Teach Your Kids About Death.

Here is an unpopular opinion: telling your kids their dog ran away, or frantically replacing the hamster with a live one before the kids return from school does more harm than good. I can hear some people now “how many kids do you have?” Well, none. “What makes you a parenting expert?” Nothing; however, my parents told me the truth, in an age appropriate manner of course. Some of my friends parents, chose not to be honest and I was more equipped to handle heartache than they were.

When I was between the ages of three to nine I had a large amount of animals. I had fish (so many fish), I had hamsters, birds, guinea pigs and even frogs. This was wonderful because it taught me responsibility and compassion for animals. I learned how to create a feeding routine and how to be gentle and patient with animals. I…