Intro

There will, unfortunately, come a day when those you care for in hospice within Los Angeles will, unfortunately, pass on. This can obviously be hard for any family, but can especially be difficult for parents such as yourself since you’ll have to eventually break the news to your children. This can be a challenging prospect for any family, and it can often be a tricky matter to approach. Despite this, it’s still very much doable, even with the sensitive minds and emotions that children may have. If you follow these steps it can become a learning experience for both you and your kids.

Delay

Naturally, you’ll find yourself becoming hesitant to talk things over with your kids regarding what happened to their relative. You might be tempted to just kick the proverbial can down the line and put off the talk, but this is one of the greatest mistakes you could ever think to make. If you delay this talk, or even worse, outright lie to your children it could only traumatize them further or in some cases even cause them to question their trust in you. Discussing with them the death of a relative or loved one should be treated as a band-aid: Do it quickly and it might be sharply painful at first, but worth it in the end. With that filed away in your mind, you next need to consider how to explain this to the child.

Simple and Straightforward

When discussing the passing of a relative, there should be no need to overcomplicate things nor should you feel inclined to use big words. Use simple words and be clear while concise with them in order for them to fully grasp and understand just what has happened. Be direct with them and avoid beating around the bush, sometimes taking pauses in between what you say so that the information can sink in and the children have time to process the information that you give them. So essentially be straight with them, but also mind yourself to be tactful.

Different reactions

For those that have different kids, you’re definitely going to need to be ready for different reactions to the news for the many kids that you will have. One child may have been closer to your relative than others so they may take the news harder than the rest. If some of your kids are saddened by the news but aren’t as broken up by it as you or your other kids then don’t overthink it. Everyone has the right to process the news in their own way and how they want to react and grieve should be respected if that is how they genuinely feel. 

Listen

One of the best ways you can help your child through this difficult time is to be an excellent listener. A parent that can specialize in listening to the child and their thoughts on what has happened to their relative or loved one is a parent that shows that they truly care. Responding to these concerns after absorbing everything that the child has said on the matter will show that you paid attention to what they want to say and displays a level of concern and care that makes them feel like they matter. Let them get it all out of their system, even if it might seem hard at first. 

Conclusion

For you to help your children get through these difficult ordeals, it’s not going to be easy for either of you. With enough determination, and enough know-how on the ways to approach your child with this news it can be a challenging, but learning ordeal for the both of you. So when your relative passes away within hospice in Los Angeles, keep this advice in mind for when you eventually approach your child.