How do I explain scars when a young child asks about them?

Never lie to a child. Always be truthful but in a way you can sugar coat the truth. You can say in true events what has happened but explain that you are better. Aside from that if you think that this is too graphic for a young child to know about simply but smartly avoid the question because if you dont answer in a way they will understand they will seek the truth for themselves and you never know how that can turn out especially knowing that children are very adventuress. Be honest but secure at the same time.

When a young child asks about my scars, I say I had an accident. I fell and got hurt. I didn't go see a doctor and get help, so now I have scars on my legs. If they keep asking, I'll say it was a bad accident when I was young. It was my fault. I didn't listen to my parents, so I got hurt. I'll tell them if they get hurt, they should tell their Mom and Dad so they don't have scars to. Then, hopefully they will talk to their parents, and won't end up like me.

Personally, I would not explain the complexities of emotional pain and self harm to a young child. It’s too difficult for them to understand and it might give them the wrong idea. While it may feel good for a time, you wouldn’t want a child to think that it’s a good way to handle stress/pain. Maybe you could pretend that they are from something else like an old Injury. Rock climbing scars always worked for me. If the young children you’re referring to our your children or very close to you, perhaps one day you could share the struggle with them when they are more capable of understanding.

This is a great question. I have a lot of self harm scars, and I actually had a child ask about them in a really blunt way at a grocery store once. I froze for a moment, but then I told her that I was superhero at night and sometimes I got beat up, but that I always got the bad guy, and could she keep my secret for me? The kid was thrilled and the mom was happy with my answer! Children just say what is on their mind, they don't mean any harm by it, so don't worry when they ask!

You could say: "I was fighting off dragons!"A humorous approach may be appropriate. "I was very sick, and that's why i got these scars." After all it's true, you were sick and that's why you resorted to harming yourself. You could say, "I was very sad at one time so I got the scars." If you are talking to an older child you can explain what self-harming is. Never give details or violent information; it might scare them or give them ideas. Sometimes you could say, just ask your parents. Or, you'll fimd out when you're older. Or, sometimes peple get scars when they're very sad.

Tell them that you've been through something and you came out stronger. Explain to them that scars don't make someone weak, but it also doesn't make them "cool", and that they don't want to have scars either. Children are very impressionable, and it's important for them to know that they don't need to put scars on their body to be like others. More and more children nowadays are exposed to and understand selfharm, so it's more than likely that they already know what it is, if they've been in school for a few years. But, if you must explain, say something like "I was hurt, but I'm better now."

I am guessing you are talking about when they ask about scars from self-harm. I understand that this can be a tricky situation. You don't want to alarm the child, but also needs to have something to say that will "satisfy" them. I think you have to consider things like how old they are, whose children they are, and how you feel about things like white lies or half truths. For younger children you could maybe say something simple like "I got hurt". For older children you could consider something like "It is something sad that happened to me" and if you'd like you could add that you don't like talking about it. Or you could tell a completely adventurous story about a journey you took through a jungle once upon a time and you fell, but it was such an awesome place to see... That could get them side-tracked, but you will have to decide for yourself if you'd like to go for something wild and less true or something more cryptic and mundane but closer to the truth.

Often times this situation happens in public or with a child you're unfamiliar with. Hopefully right off the bat, their parent will pull them away or stop the conversation in its tracks. However, this sometimes is not the case. When you're trapped in this kind of situation it can be incredibly overwhelming. However, keep in mind that young children are innocent and generally think the best of you. They're asking out of curiosity, not to be hurtful. For your sake and the child's, don't be afraid to craft a fun story. For example, you could say they're your tiger stripes or that you're a spy and got hurt on a secret mission. Protect yourself and the child's innocence, but most of all don't let this set you back.

I have personally told children at work (I worked at an animal handling place) that they are animal scratches, if you have a relevant hobby or job you could link your scars to you could use that, alternatively, you could say you got them from a pet, either yours, a friends, or a made up one as long as they wont find out. Older kids 14+ I have explained what they are, but only when they've been old enough to understand and unfortunately most of those kids already had difficult experiences which is terrible but meant they processed the information better. I always follow up that I'm happy now, I'm doing well, and I make sure I get permission before I tell them from their guardian

I prefer to always be honest with them. I make sure to tell them in such a way that wouldn't scare them, but explain why we get scars, through injury, illness and so on. For example, a family member has several scars as a result of injury from military service, we explained to my son when he asked, that the family member had got hurt whilst working in his job as a soldier, the marks he sees now is where his body has healed his skin back together. We also explained that many people have many different scars for different reasons and that some people get upset by their own scars, as it reminds them of a time that made them very sad.