Talking to kids about death is extremely easy for followers of old European faith.

Nothing has to be confusing because we’ve got the happiest, most logical, sustainable, and easiest to understand concept:

You get reborn into your bloodline with unpredictable speed and degree that’s based on the amount of honor you earn in your lifetime(s).

Your work, reputation, and ideas live too, which is a comfort for the childless; but you need to have progeny.

That’s it.

Explain to them that their grandparents are forever in their blood and will get reborn in their children and grandchildren.

Explain to them how even older ancestors are ever-manifesting in their lives, character traits, and intuition.

Tell them that every victory of every generation before them is the treasure forever accumulated in their blood.

Tell them they are here thanks to the will, grit, and perseverance of thousands of generations before them.

They are the product of thousands of generations of winners.

At any point during hardships, they can invoke the powers and experiences of those who won before them – and win too.

Tell them they can do anything just by unlocking things they’ve already done. It’s inspiring.

Why this answer

All monotheistic ideas about the afterlife are purposely confusing and rely on hope and fear, because those religions were designed to weaken and control large societies full of obedient slaves.

They encourage you to give up on things, get complacent, get used to suffering and losing – because you may get to a better place and get repaid for it all. It’s pure subversion of our spirit.

Hope is a toxic, disempowering emotion.

The Abrahamic idea of the afterlife is also an idea that justifies corruption and the rule of the shameless.

A “legitimate” way for bad actors to abuse the good people with the plan to escape into the afterlife, where everyone is supposedly equally blissful.

But whenever there’s equalization, there’s injustice and breach of divine order.

Our system is based on freedom, strength & willpower, honor, and responsibility.

We stay here, and we come back into the mess we’ve made ourselves. Or into the better world we’ve built.

Rebirth is natural

There are Pagan notions of underworlds and paradise (valhalla/elisium/hel/nifelheim/vyraj etc.), but I’ve come to view these as later distorted concepts that have been planted over the main core afterlife principle of rebirth, continuation.

The “other worlds” are not necessarily alien ideas, but very possibly simplifications and metaphors for those not ready to take it all as it is.

Heroes get reborn fast. Regular people take more time. Traitors and wrongdoers spend even longer times in darker places, or, rather, states.

Before we manifest in our bloodline again, we may become one with natural spirits, places and objects that we’ve spent a lot of time and energy with during our lifetimes.

The exact mechanics do not really matter; it can all be discussed forever, we just know for sure that energy is preserved.

Our input is not lost, provided we’re active and honest. Our charge is making ripples.

In Nature, nothing comes out of nowhere, and nothing disappears into nowhere. Hence, the idea of reincarnation is very smooth and understandable, especially to your kids.

You can illustrate it to your kids by showing how an oak tree grows out of an acorn, and more oak trees grow from its acorns. An acorn is not an oak, but it can become one, and it will be as hard and tall as all the previous oaks. A caterpillar dies, but a butterfly is born – it lays eggs that gets more caterpillars.

But telling stories about your ancestors is the #1 way to give your children healthy ideas of our existence.

We are our ancestors

Mention how grandparents used to live their lives before your kids were born.

Show pictures of your ancestors and point out resemblances. Tell stories of your ancestors and match some of their abilities or experiences to those of your kids.

Tell anecdotes and stories. It’s always fun, because your kids have these “aha!” moments when they say “I would’ve done that too” or “I’m also like that”.

When they play on their own, they reenact these stories later. It’s all part of the plan.

It’s not scary or confusing. We are our ancestors. Getting reborn and drinking your mother’s milk is the feast with Odinn.

Consequently, we live in the world we make.

There’s no escape into places where things are done for us – we take full responsibility.

The kids know this already

The kids are closer to the other side of life, so they feel it better than you do. They should be telling you, not vice versa.

I’ve had a very interesting conversation with my youngest son when he just learned to speak.

We were driving and I asked him –

“Do you remember where you were before you were born? Did you wait anywhere? What was it like?”

He thought hard for some time, trying to shape his answer, and then said –

“Well… it is like new music”.

This hit hard. These moments when you listen to new music that you like, we all know the feeling…

Just live well.