how do I make this one better?

[Tissy]

someone (maybe me!) At some point told dd(3) that people die when they get very old..

It's my birthday next week, dd asks "what my number is going to be"- she means how old?

I tell her "42"

She says "is that very old?"

I say (somewhat distracted with my mind on something else) "oh yes, darling, very old..."

Dd- "Oh no, you're going to die then I won't have a Mummy"

Tried to explain that healthy people generally don't die in their 40's, but she wasn't convinced and now doesn't want me to have a birthday- won't harbour any kind of talk about my cake, cards, presents, etc...

What do I say, or shall I just ignore it and hope it goes away?

Aw bless her!

I told my DD (also 3) that when people/things get really old they stop working properly and then they die
Maybe you could just re-assure her that you are working properly and leave it at that.

Trying to explain things to a three year old can be tricky!

Is your mum still alive Tissy? Could you point that out and maybe that would help? If not then I think you have to keep talking about it, not incessantly, obviously, but give her a chance to air he worries and just keep dealing with them as you have been.

Ooops, this could so easily be me. DS is obsessed with the death thing, too. I thiink Tamum's idea is a good one except that you run the risk of getting her to worry about a g'parent dying?
Tell her you were joking and that 42 is NOT old at all (which it isn't), and demonstrate in some v ott way how fit and healthy you are? Show her some pics of some v old people who are not relations and show how old you can be and still alive/

And perhaps tell her that you won't be ready to die until she herself is very very grown up and almost old herself?