Never too young to talk about death?

Talking to children about death is a difficult and delicate task, but it is sometimes also necessary. While many adults shy away from discussing the loss of a friend or relative with children, some health professionals argue that we should be more proactive. Here, Hannah Newton, a social historian and research associate at St John's College, Cambridge, explains why this is one area where the past may offer valuable lessons for our own time. Before we can help our children, we need to help ourselves: we need to overcome our own reluctance to think about death - Hannah Newton Should we talk to children about death, and if so when, and how? It's hard enough discussing it with other adults. Death is unfamiliar to most of us, even though we see it acted on our TV screens and reported in the news on a daily basis. Out of a desire to protect our children, we often shy away from discussing it openly. But health professionals and teachers think this might be unwise. Dr Stuart Crisp, consultant pediatrician, writes, 'Sooner or later, the child will be confronted with the subject.