I didn't tell my kids their grandfather had died. I learned that I can't keep them from reality.

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• My kids's grandfather died recently, and I struggled with how to deliver the news to them.
• I felt like there was no right time to tell them, and I kept delaying doing so.
• I've learned an important lesson in parenting: bad news comes at inconvenient times.

Recently, I had to tell my kids that their grandfather died after a long illness. Though they understood he was sick, I found myself struggling with how to relay the news to them.