Children are far more intuitive than adults because they haven't been programmed by environment yet. What's sad is you weren't the one to tell him.

Don't we have enough adults on the planet afraid to deal with the truth? Don't raise yet another one. Talk to him.

My 2 cents. Cast it away if you like.

I sort of agree with Ock, but I am not sure 5 is the age to deal with it. Maybe it is. It is really hard to know what he has connected, but now that the gate is open...you better sit down and figure out what the little brain is telling him...what he has heard...where that comment came from. I remember so many times when my kids said something and I thought they thought thus and with a little conversation found they were talking about something totally different. Any how, I have full confidence in your ability to handle this smart.

Thanks.

Well spotted, he obviously is worried. I guess you cant avoid that kind of topic these days for long, age of instant communication etc etc. As was said earlier, kids are smarter than we give them credit for. He's obviously now trying to deal with it, maybe even indirectly asking for reassurance from you.

Your sensitive antenna picked it up, I'm sure you'll come to an equally sensitive solution to resolve it before it becomes too exagerated in his mind.

Is he maybe stressed right now, and that is why he said it?  Maybe he knows that there isn't much time until Daddy is home and is stressed because he is worrying about the last months.

Death is a really tough concept, especially for such a little guy.  I don't blame you for trying to protect him from the harsh reality, especially since it's his Dad that is the subject.

He's obviously now trying to deal with it, maybe even indirectly asking for reassurance from you.

Talk to him.

you better sit down and figure out what the little brain is telling him...what he has heard...where that comment came from

So this morning, I tried to see how he was doing. He came in my room to cuddle before getting dressed for school and I told him that I talked to his dad (to see if I could figure out how he was feeling) He got really quiet and looked upset, so I asked him how he was feeling.

"Mom, I'm really hungry right now. Can't we just go eat some food?"

Who knows. I'll wait and see. I can never tell with these kids.

It's obviously a concern.

And I'm going through something similar (similar in that it's my brother going, and my kids are his only niece/nephews and they're very close to him). They're aware (even the 6 year old) that he's going to a place that's not quite as safe as driving to work (although ... with his driving record and luck, it's probably at least as safe. )

Some of them, are taking it better, especially after a little talk we had w/ them, just explaining things. Our 9 year old is taking it hard though. Of all my kids, he's the one that takes after my side of the family the most. In fact, he's a carbon copy of my brother, for the most part. And of all the kids, he's the one closest to my brother. And is autistic... and goes into a fit when pressed to talk on the phone w/ his uncle 'cause he's scared and worried. Even then, after getting to talk on the phone briefly this weekend, it cleared things up a little. He's not quite as worried.

Give your little guy some time. Either he'll forget it, or he'll talk to ya. Like BFD said, he could be thinking about something completely different.

Yup, them lousy receptive kids!  No matter what we try, they're still going to pick on the things we'd rather not have them deal with.

With my oldest it was "daddy's coming home when the war is over"... The minute he heard the war had ended, he expected daddy to be home the next day.

The thing is, the fact he is praying about means he is, in his 5 year old way, dealing with it also.

Either he'll forget it, or he'll talk to ya. Like BFD said, he could be thinking about something completely different.

Well I asked him at bedtime if he wanted to talk about anything. He said he missed his dad and explained how there was "a lot of sand in the Iraq that dad was in". Then he started to ask about the bad guys and if they would get stuck in the sand. We talked about all the special forces and security guys with big guns that are in Iraq and how that means his dad is really special and safe cause the Army is protecting him. I reminded him that on Google Earth we looked at the place where his Dad lives and we could see all the vehicles and helicopters that they have too.

He seemed happy with the answer, but I'm sure this will come up again. I just want him to be able to tell me what's going on and to be able to trust that I will be there for him....even if I can't fix anything, I want to support him. I hope I can always be that mom.