Children are easily mystified by what they see around them, especially if it’s the first time. For parents, this is an opportunity to impart some knowledge essential for their development.
The early stage of childhood is one of the key stages in their learning, and we can argue that there are some topics which we as grownups would become uncomfortable discussing to them if they ask. One such topic is death or anything related to dying, crematory services, and even wakes.
Despite that, children are naturally curious and will relentlessly ask you that question they can’t sleep on. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to help teach them about the matters they’re most curious about. Limiting their thirst for knowledge may hinder their development.
Once they ask what’s inside the urn, here’s how you should answer them.
Explain the Contents
While saying that the urn contains the ashes of the departed is answer enough for an adult, the kids won’t stop asking you more once you tell them. It’s going to be challenging to explain the concept of death and why there’s a choice to burn the body instead of burying it for funeral arrangements in Salt Lake City.
What you may want to do is start with a little bit of history. Cremation started way back when ancient civilizations started practicing it due to their religious or cultural beliefs. However, nowadays, there are a lot more reasons, like safety and health.
Since children aren’t familiar with terminologies yet, you can simplify your words and try to make it as interesting for them as possible. When they get old enough to understand, they’ll easily absorb the information and pick it up effortlessly.
Show Them What’s Inside
Once you answer the first question, it’ll probably lead to them being curious as to what the contents look like. It’s tempting to say no. However that would be unfair to the child as all they want to do is look and see what’s inside.
You can definitely show them, but you should remember to take extra precautions while doing so. They may accidentally inhale the contents, so before you show it to them, be sure to remind them never to touch or peek too closely. Be aware of your surroundings, since a slight bit of wind can carry particles and that would be catastrophic as well as disrespectful to the dearly departed.
Let Them Share
Now that their curiosity is fed, they’ll surely want to say something about what they know now. Again, this is an opportunity for you as a parent to influence your child’s learning.
Provide a listening ear and let them speak about how they felt regarding their first-hand experience and do answer their follow-up questions in case they still have some more up their sleeve. It’s important that children express their opinions as well since it will help them develop a sense of confidence when speaking with you and other people.
The topic of death and dying may still elude us even in adulthood, but do remember that we as humans have always been so curious that it helped shape our progress as well as the world. Ever since we’ve started to discover the world around us, many questions that were previously unknown have been answered. Children are just like that. If we fail to satiate their curiosity when we can do so, they may look for the answer on their own and put themselves in danger.
