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Oh man that sucks I don’t think my 25mo old would understand at all so I guess just keep it simple. I would just say Papi died and went to heaven

I'm so sorry about your Dad.

As for LO, I would just keep talking about your Dad. Put some pics of them together so he has those to look at. The questions will get deeper as he gets older but it's good to keep that communication open.

I am so terribly sorry for your loss. That is a beautiful photograph and I know you will cherish it.

When we experienced the loss of a close family member, my daughter was about the same age. I explained that H had died and we would miss her very much because we wouldn't see her any more. She accepted the explanation and although she asked questions, repeating that wording helped her understand. I think my biggest mistake was telling her that the funeral was to say goodbye, because she thought H would be there to say goodbye back to her. It's so hard, but avoiding phrases that could be misinterpreted like that was important.

I'm so sorry. My dad passed last year, so I understand. I don't have any advice/experience with how to tell your LO about this, but what I will say is that my little cousin became pretty upset at my grandmother's funeral, even though I don't know that he was old enough to understand what was happening. All that emotion is hard for little ones. So, we had a designated person (my DH) who my cousin was familiar with and trusted who scooped him up when he got upset and took him outside to a calmer setting. It allowed my aunt and uncle to remain through the service without having to worry about their kiddo. This might be something to consider. Sending you hugs and love as your family celebrates and remembers your dad.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

My dad passed 10 years ago, so well before I had kids. I have a 2.5yo and 4.5yo. My 4.5yo is just barely capable of grasping the permanency of death, but even now he’ll sometimes ask when we’ll get to visit my dad. He understands Earth (sort of) so we talk about how he’s not on Earth anymore and therefore he’s too far away to visit. I don’t push it too much because then he’ll start asking when mommy and daddy are going to die; I don’t need him worried that we’re all gonna die and leave him quite yet. We do talk about it, but we don’t focus on it.

My 2.5yo has no clue. He’s too young.

This will be much harder on you than your kiddo. I would expect him to keep asking where your dad is for awhile.... I would just calmly and simply explain that he’s in Heaven now and you can’t visit him there. I wouldn’t expect him to grasp the permanency of that for awhile. As he grows up, lots of pictures and stories to keep his memory alive. But for now, just keep it simple. He’s so young, luckily he won’t understand much and he’ll be ok.

Take care of yourself.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I'm so sorry for your loss.

My FIL passed away unexpectedly when my LOs were 3 & 5. I was so worried about how they would handle the news of his death and the funeral, but they both did great. We talked about how he went to heaven. They did ask if that means he is dead, so we talked about that and discussed how we'd miss him.

I received several recommendations on books about death that were age appropriate and got so many suggestions, but after reading them, I didn't think any were appropriate. So many people recommended "When Dinosaurs Die" - but I was horrified to see that book discusses all the different ways someone could die (illness, an accident, murder, war, etc, etc.). That wouldn't sit well with my kids and would just open the door to more worrying.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

My experience is one generation different, but my grandmother passed when DS was 2 years and 1 month. I was really surprised by how much he seemed to get it, in the sweetest, simplest way.

I simply explained that Granny had died, and we wouldn't get to see her again. But, we would always have our memories of her, and our pictures, and we could even talk to her if we wanted to tell her things, but she wouldn't be able to talk back to us. I said that we were going to have a funeral, where we could say goodbye one last time. It was an open casket and Catholic mass. (We are Jewish, so everything including the location was totally foreign to him). DS was WONDERFUL - he sat quietly, was really well-behaved, and he walked up to the casket and said "goodbye Granny, I'll miss you" without any prompting (aside from "we're here becase this is our chance to say goodbye").

I certainly can't promise that your DS will act the same way, but I think that kids can pick up on more than we give them credit for. My son could definitely tell that people were sad, and he acted accordingly.

I'm so sorry for your loss. We recently lost my grandfather when LO was 30 months. I made sure to tell her that he died, rather than using euphemisms. I was worried she'd have so many questions but like previous posters said, it was kind of out of sight, out of mind. We even lived on the same property, so although he was very old and not as active, she saw him every day. We got two books, linked below. We've read them some, but honestly I don't think she has really connected it. She still mentions him sometimes, but not nearly as much as expected.

https://www.amazon.com/Gentle-Willow-Story-Children-About/dp/1591470722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532630040&sr=8-1&keywords=gentle+willow+a+story+for+children+about+dying

https://www.amazon.com/Lifetimes-Beautiful-Explain-Death-Children/dp/0553344021/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532630060&sr=1-1&keywords=lifetimes+a+beautiful+way+to+explain+death+to+children

What a beautiful picture. I’m so sorry to hear about your dad.

I am so sorry for your loss I love that you already have plans to keep his memories alive and still keep him as a part of LO's life

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I'm so sorry for your loss

I just thought of something...what about creating a photo book for your son with pictures of grandpa? I'm sure it would be something he treasured as he got older.

So very sorry for your loss. That is a beautiful pic of your son and your dad.

I wrote a few journal entries about the best memories and also about her death and what I wished she could see now and I plan to do something with that for the boys to know more about her.

oh, I am so sorry for your loss. I'm sending you thoughts of solace and peace.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: My heart goes out to you. I’m so sorry for your loss . I lost my mom unexpectedly 10 years ago, but it was before I had my LOs. I think you are approaching it the right way, telling your LO that Papi is in heaven. I personally am not religious, but since you are, this is the right approach. I think it’s ok to even say that grandfather has died. He won’t understand at that age, but it’s ok to say he died and you won’t see him anymore. My older LO was 3 when he started asking about death and dying. I was surprised and unprepared, but explained what I believe to be true in an honest way. My DD was right around 4 when she asked out of the blue who my mom was, so I had to explain again about death. My older LO is now 7 and I think he has a better grasp on death, but we haven’t ever lost anyone close to us, so it’s hard to say. The photo album is a great idea.

There is a really beautiful yet sad Oliver Jeffers book called The Heart and the Bottle. Maybe that would help conceptualize loss a bit more. But it is fairly vague and doesn’t directly talk about death.

Oh I am so very sorry. Please know that you have our love and support during this time. I will be praying for your family.