![]() ![]() We advise to follow these principles: tell them the truth, as far as you know it, in language they can understand, and in a way that takes into account their understanding of the world around them.Ĭhildren need to process information, so give them a simple initial explanation and build of it later. Finding the right way to talk to very young children about suicide can be daunting. The younger the child is, the harder it is to talk about something as complex as suicide. ![]() Are my children too young to talk to them about a suicide? Read more about whether you should tell a child that someone has died by suicide. If everyone has a common understanding that the person made themselves die, then older children don’t have to keep secrets and younger children don’t feel excluded. It’s best to try and give children, even young children, truthful information about a death to avoid confusion and misinformation.Ĭhildren of different ages in your family will need the same basic facts but with different levels of complexity. Should I tell a child that someone has died by suicide? Share more information as a child gets older and their understanding develops.Encourage them ask questions and be prepared to answer them.Use language children will understand and be comfortable with.Be honest and consistent with your explanation of how that person died.Explain what’s happened in a series of steps, building up information like a jigsaw.Be honest and give children truthful information about a death by suicide.So, our expert team at Winston’s Wish offer guidance on how to explain a suicide to a child, including: Often adults don’t want to talk about suicide, but we know from our experience that it is better to tell a child or young person the truth in a way that they will understand. ![]() If you need to speak to someone, you can call the Samaritans at any time on 116 123 or email For more information, visit NHS.uk.Telling a child someone they love has died is difficult enough, but explaining that they died by suicide can be even harder. Because that is where you’ll always be to me. Instead, I will put on Nirvana’s The Man Who Sold The World as loud as my stereo will allow and imagine we are at Ziggy’s nightclub in 1993, dancing together and spilling our cheap cider. You would hate any soppy sentimentality, of course, and it’s too late to insist and pull you in tight for a hug. I wish I’d told you more often how amazing I thought you were, and that you really were a one-off. My only consolation is that you can't see what is happening in the world right now. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 – a horrifying statistic – and more needs to be done to support men who are suffering, often, in silence. But no one can blame her.Ī week before you left us, you tried to get an appointment with a psychiatrist, but were told by your GP you weren’t ‘ill enough’. The world news, any injustice – it drove you to distraction. When your partner of 15 years left you for someone else, it was the final trigger. Until you got tired of fighting.įew realised how caring you were under the dyed black hair and barbed comments. At 12, you saw a psychiatrist for the first time and took medication on and off for years. Bullied relentlessly at school, you withdrew into yourself. Being a bit of a loner, having brains and red hair, made you ‘different’ from your peers. ![]() You were always an over-thinker – your mind never stopped. You never tried to hide your mental illness from me, but if I'm honest, you wore it on your face every day. I'm a fixer by nature, and the 'strong one' people turn to – but I couldn't help you. You found life too much, and would not want anyone to grieve for too long. Your mum was so brave, how could I not be, too? She comforted me by saying that you were where you wanted to be. ![]()
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