Especially if they have already experienced the loss of a pet, a family member's pet, a famous person who has died that affected you or someone else, a distant family member, a church or community member, etc. Someone or something was here, and now they are gone. They are aware of it; the key is to not ignore or sugarcoat it but to get them to embrace the idea of life and death not as a horrible inevitability but as a natural thing.

We live in the country and our in-laws have a small farm with cows, horses, dogs, cats, fish, and whatnot. So it was fortunate, in a way, to have animals die both unexpectedly and from old age and to explain to the kids that every creature has their time and to appreciate what they gave while they were here.

Another thing I found to be helpful is to empathize with the kids' sadness, and to let them know that being sad about the death of a loved one is a good thing. That means they cared about someone, that someone cared about them, and it's a beautiful thing to have that kind of familial bond and affection that can be shared and remembered. So we talk about family members that have passed a lot, how much we cared about them, the things they did, how they lived their lives, and our kids can have a connection with them. And I can continue to have a connection to my deceased relatives through my kids.