Telling a young child about surgery?

[Museum-Mama 196]

I have one child that is 6. I am having the surgery when he is out of school and with his dad for the summer. He is very observant and curious, and so I am torn about telling him. I dont want his dad to know more than having my gallbladder out, so i feel torn that I cant even tell my son because he will tell dad. Son has no filter. lol. But I need to tell him SOMETHING because he can't be running and jumping into my lap or horse playing with me for a while.

I am just uncertain as to what to tell him and how much. Did anyone decide to tell their young kids and how did it go? Any divorced parents decide on how to tell their young kids?

help?!

[Luvlvnlyfe5 48]

If you told your ex you having gallbladder surgery tell your son the same thing. Kids do not have a filter so I understand. My son is too young to understand so I will just tell him Mommy has a booboo. He is three. I haven't told my father. He recently moved in with us and I know he will be totally against surgery and spend every minute trying to talk me out of it. I haven't decided when to tell him but I need to. Maybe that morning when I'm leaving for hospital ;-(

[freethinker 6]

Not dealing with an ex but I do have 2 small children. I told them I had a boo-boo in my tummy and had to stay at the hospital for 2 days to get better. My 3 year old knows not to elbow, push on jump on me and that I can no longer pick her up... which I did and regreted PS.

[juny 93]

just my 2 cents

Told my mom. she spent the entire time trying to talk me out of surgery until and including the day.

I told my dad, I was going to chicago for a couple days.....yeah i live w/ both my parents. After surgery I had a few complications and stayed an extra couple days. My mom and I decided to tell my dad that I had a haital hernia repair.

A few weeks later, he's figured out on his own that I had wls. We don't talk about it. He's not the parent he was before the stroke and I just don't feel like letting him in the door on that one.

My mom has become the more hopeful one. She's so excited and thinks I now did the right thing. I spent a solid month out of my mind w/ worry and anxiety after surgery, wasn't sleeping at all. It was not a great time. But since coming out of that, I'm so much more myself and feeling pretty good about the future.

You have a right to keep things private until you come to terms with this on your own time. You have a right be as private as you need to be until then. Telling them its gallbladder surgery is not the worst thing in the world and will give you the time you need to deal with the changes.

[Kristina J. 581]

I am lucky that my ex husband and I didn't have kids lol and that my husband is so supportive, but I do have small kids. My almost 2 year old obviously won't understand the concept, but my 3 and a half year old will want to know what's going on and why she can't jump on me or be picked up. I had a hysterectomy a while back and found that the easiest was just explaining that I had an "owie" and that she needed to be careful.

You can explain it to your son as a gallbladder removal, but at 6, he may or may not get it. I would tell him that you had to go to the doctor to get better and you just need to heal up. I equated it to getting a shot for my daughter. You see the doctor, and he fixes you, but sometimes it just hurts for a little bit. And if you go that route, if he tells your ex that you have an owie from the doctor, it would fit right in line with gallbladder and you're not technically lying to your son!

[Richard Foor 655]

I have a 5 year old daughter and a 10 year autistic son. I told them that I was having surgery to get rid of my big belly, my daughter at first wasn't happy about it because she said she liked hugging my big belly, but I told her that by getting rid of my belly she would get to keep daddy longer and that I would be able to run and play more with her, she liked that idea.

[Museum-Mama 196]

Thank you all for the ideas. I guess since I am really at peace with the surgery, I am worrying about this instead. Lol!