Conversations on death

Evan recently broached the subject of death with me. The first was during a viewing of Sleeping Beauty (thanks Disney)-- have you seen that movie lately? It's pretty violent and scary for an audience of young kids. I'll hold off on showing that one again for a while. The questions came flooding in during the dragon slaying scene (Why did he kill him? Did he die? Why?). My answers: Because the dragon was bad. Yes. Because the prince killed him. Thankfully Evan doesn't yet have the cognitive ability for insightful follow up questions, like, "Does that mean we kill people when they are bad?" Good question Evan, let's discuss capital punishment...

The other conversation happened today during a quick ride in the car.

"Look Mom, a soccer field!"
"No, that's a cemetary."
"What's a cemerry?"
"Well, it's a place where people go when they die."
"Where do they go?"
(oh boy)
"Well, when they die, they get buried in the cemetary."
"What does buried mean?"
(oh boy)
"Buried is when you dig a hole and your body gets covered up by the dirt." (is he traumatized yet?)
"Does everybody die?"
(wow)
"Um, well, yes, eventually."
"Oh."
(phew!)

It's not that I think children should be shielded from such topics as death, but I do believe there is a delicate way in which to deliver the explanation. ie, one that does not lead to pre-k psychotherapy sessions. I get the sense that we are only at the tip top of an iceberg full of questions about death, life, and other so-called "grown-up" topics... Doesn't Disney make some kind of "Why People Die, and Other Unanswered Preschool Questions" movie?