My 5 year old daughter has sometimes become frightened and worried about the idea of me dying at some time in the future. She has been very tearful about this and we have always talked the issue through. 2 nights ago, after reading a couple of chapters of a new book (not dealing at all with the subject of death) she cried after bedtime and said she was again worried about me dying. We talked it through and I read her a couple more chapters of the book to take her mind of it. The next night, the same thing happened. I simply read 2 more chapters and the problem seemed to go away. Tonight, the same thing happened again, but I refused to read any more chapters of her book. I suggested that we talk about her worries during the day, not at bedtime, but she was almost inconsolable. Three questions:
Is it normal to worry so much about death at that age?
Am I being manipulated at bedtime in the hope of more bedtime stories?
What do I do, both about the issue of worrying about death and/or the bedtime manipulation??!!
If it is manipulation, it is the worst I have experienced so far, as the topic really pulls at my heart strings. I don't want to ignore her if she really is upset. Equally, she really needs to go to bed!
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Behaviour/development
5 year old worried about me dying
7 replies
Caradoc · 24/08/2011 22:24
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