Feelings, thoughts and experiences of parents who lost a loved one about talking to their children abouth death

For parents, talking to their children about death can be difficult due to reasons such as children not fully understanding death, their abstract thinking skills not being developed, and death being a painful experience. The aim of this study is to examine the feelings, thoughts and experiences of parents who have lost loved ones regarding talking about death with their children between the ages of 3 and 6. This study was conducted using the phenomenological method, one of the qualitative research methods. Data were obtained using the Personal Information Form and the Semi-Structured Interview Form. The study group of this study consists of 15 parents who lost a loved one whose child was registered in the official independent kindergartens affiliated with the Yalova Provincial Directorate of National Education or who had 3-6 year old children in the city center of Yalova. The study was completed with 14 participants face to face and 1 participant online. The data obtained were examined with descriptive analysis. Seven main themes and 23 sub-themes were created, including the meaning of death, situations that make it easier and harder to cope with grief, feelings, thoughts, experiences regarding talking about death with the child, and supports in talking about death. The feeling emphasized regarding talking about death with the child was evaluated as feeling uncomfortable/insufficient. The most frequently emphasized thought regarding talking about death with the child was determined as awareness of death, and the experience was difficulty in talking about death. The participants stated their sources of support in talking about death as informative trainings/contents, and expert support. It was concluded that parents who lost a loved one felt uncomfortable/insufficient when talking about death with their children between the ages of 3-6, did not know how to talk about death, but thought that providing accurate information was important.