We took my 4 and 2 year old girls to my husband’s Grandmother’s funeral. I carefully explained to them in advance how the service would go. I told them there would be a coffin which was just a special name for a box that Great-grandma’s body would be in. I thought I had explained it all to demystify it in an age-friendly way. The service went through without hitch and I was leading the girls out of the chapel. As we passed the coffin, Hannah (4) melted down and started howling. She’s not usually into dramatics but we managed to get out and I eventually calmed her enough so that she could speak. She wasn’t the slightest bit sorry that Great-Grandma had died … but had really wanted to look inside the box and was absolutely furious that she was being taken out without being allowed to.
