Hi everyone!
Very recently my mother in law was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she only has weeks at best!!
My 3 yrs old daughter is extremely close to her, I was hoping someone could give me any advice on preparing her for what’s to come.
Thanks in advance .x
Hi I have a 2 year granddaughter when my husband was given 3 days to live and passed my daughter told her he’s gone to sleep every time I went to sleep she would wake me up and say nana don’t sleep. I had to tell her grandad has died and not coming back. They say to tell them the truth x Take care
That’s my thinking also , I don’t want her to be afraid to go to sleep,
So sorry for your loss, thanks for the reply!
Hi Rubykat, I’m so sorry to hear that your mother-in-law has been given weeks to live. Talking to your daughter about this is extremely hard, but Kim is right that it’s important to be honest. A lot of people think that they have to ‘be strong’ for children, but it’s OK to let her see that you are upset - in fact,it will help to teach her that she can express her own emotions and not bottle them up.
We have some information on the Sue Ryder website that might be helpful:
Telling a child that a loved one is dying
Supporting a child when a loved one is dying
The charity Winston’s Wish also has some good information about this, as well as a helpline if you need to chat it through with someone: https://www.winstonswish.org/serious-illness/
That’s really helpful thank you, I’ll sit and have a good read!!
We told my 4 year old granddaughter that grandad was ill and wouldn’t get better, and that when he was ready he would go to the clouds with her mummy’s grandparents. She is happy with this and waves and talks to her grandad there. She also tells me he is following her wherever she goes.
Sorry for your loss, love this idea