Ages and death questions

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My son (6 yo AS/ADHD) is ALWAYS asking questions about ages, how old someone is, what happens if he is old like them, why old people have heart attacks, what happens when you get too old, do you start back at one?.. I'm not a very religious person so I'm not sure what to tell him about what happens after you die, I tried the whole you go to heaven but he told me that I was wrong..

He also is constantly asking me if when he gets to a certain age he will start back at 1? Why old people have heart attacks, who decided that at 18 you are an adult.. SO MANY age related questions ALL DAY LONG. Anyone else have this going on?

He sounds like a thinker. Perhaps you should start to worry when he stops asking questions.

I remember learning about death. I had one auntie who didn't want the children to know anything about so and so's funeral. I don't even remember who, just Auntie's fit. She was wringing her hands and telling her sisters through her tears that she thought it would upset us too much. (I was eavesdropping with three of my cousins.)

It was decided that 10 yrs. old was the cut off and I think I was only 5 or 6. I remember that some of us had to wait at someone's house until IT was over.

Later, I asked my mother about it, which of course, blew the secrecy of our indiscretions, but she calmly told me that as we grow older, our bodies start to break down and then we die. So and so was in heaven with Jesus (I knew all about Jesus) and her body was healed so she could run and play with the angels or something. In my family, a funeral has always been more of a family reunion and a celebration of the deceased's life. I always felt that it was healthy.

With my own kids, I always found it was better just to answer their questions as truthfully as possible. I think it's definitely easier if you believe in the afterlife, but I wouldn't know otherwise.

I've often told my son, "interesting question, and I actually do not know the answer. Would you like me to see what I can find on-line?"

Not everything in life has an answer.

If I've got an opinion, I tell him, of course. Some of those questions aren't quite that solid, are they?

As for after you die, I think you can say, "no one knows for sure. We only know that the body you live in now ceases to function and brain waves stop. Many people believe that the essence of who you are leaves the body and goes someplace else, what people of faith call heaven. Some people feel they can connect to that essence, hence stories of ghosts et al. You will have to decide for yourself what you believe."