Suicide and Kids

Ally came back from my in-laws place, eager to tell me about a lady who had fallen from above. When I heard, I was shocked but Ally said it was only from the first floor and the lady had actually wanted to catch the plastic bag that she had dropped and accidentally fell with it. She said the lady was ok, she only broke her legs and had to be sent to the hospital. She then said Ah Ma said she must be careful not to play near the balcony or open windows.

I didn't know the true extent of the story till my mother-in-law filled us in over the phone in the evening.

Alison saw a lady fall to her death today, right in front of her.

A middle aged lady cleaner committed suicide from one of the higher floors of my in-laws flat. My in laws and Ally were playing at the void deck area, when they saw a plastic bag drop with a thud on the floor. Exclaiming at how inconsiderate the act was, the whole family went forward to peek above at the culprit. Next thing, the lady fell to the ground right in front of them. The ambulance and police were called in.

I am not sure how much Ally saw. My mother-in-law said she immediately shielded Ally from the scene. Ally asked many questions. Apparently, when my mother in law told her that the lady wanted to catch the bag she had dropped, Ally was puzzled and asked why the lady didn't just walk down to get it. Didn't she know it was dangerous?

How do you talk about suicide to a kid, a toddler? Should you? I am not quite sure how to deal with it. For now, we are sticking to the story that my mum in law told her and that she seems to believe.We are trying not to mention the matter or give it any significance. I can't tell if she is traumatised by the matter. She has been talking about the lady who broke her legs the whole day. At night, she suddenly decided that she wanted the lights on. I got her to say her usual prayers to Jesus tonight and it's usually when she opens up. She spoke about the lady who broke her legs again, and we asked Jesus to help the lady get better.

Anyone have any advice for how to deal with the incident and my 4 year old. I'll just wait and see otherwise. She seems fine, but she did come down with a 39 degree fever tonight, though I'm sure that's not related.

To those of you who know her and are reading this, please don't bring the matter up either when you see her. Thanks.