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Book review: Lifetimes - The beautiful way to explain death to children

Information: A review of the book Lifetimes - The beautiful way to explain life and death to children.

Every parent will have thought about the time when they are going to have to talk to their children about sex (and most likely dread the idea of doing so), but what about other areas of life? For instance, how (or even when) do parents explain to their children the reality of death and prepare them to deal with it? I guess most parents will find themselves first addressing this issue when a pet or relative dies, which is not always the best time to have to be faced with a barrage of questions about what happened to so and so (especially if dealing with one's personal grief about the matter as well). However, this book provides an opportunity to discuss questions related to life and death before such times arise, and also provides parents the emotional and intellectual space to think about what they believe, and also what they want to teach their kids about the matter.

'Lifetimes is a moving book for children of all ages, even parents too.' (From the back cover)

Lifetimes is a very special book, and one I think all parents should have and regularly read with their children. It begins with explaining the cycle of life in the natural world, and then moves on to relate this to human lives. At each step it reinforces the point that everything in the world has its own lifetime. Some lifetimes are short and some are long; but when something dies, it is because that is how it is.

'There are lots of living things in our world, and each one has its own special lifetime.'

Sample page and text from the book

As I read Lifetimes, it felt like the book was written in a way to offer children a sense of hope that when something dies in the world, it is because it has served its purpose on earth (or achieved its life-cycle). The book also concentrates solely on the reality of death in the world. At no stage does it suggest there is something after this life, or that things have souls, or that there is a God etc. Instead, the book provides a parents who believe in such realities the chance to 'fill-in-the gaps', whereas for those who do not it avoids pushing any such agenda they would not be comfortable with.

I tried to think of some criticisms of the book, but the more I read it and flick through it, the more I feel this is the perfect book. Being the parent of an 8 month old, I am actually looking forward to reading this book with my son in the future and discussing questions of life and death with him. I know that might sound morbid, and might worry some people, but this book is so well-written that I do not fear such conversations. If anything, I'm more worried about that talk on sex...