Talking about a serious illness with a child is unique to each family and medical situation.

Experts say the conversation can start around a child's observation of the situation — for example, if a parent or another adult in their life has been going to see the doctor more than usual, or if the person has been noticeably sick.

Begin the conversation with what they know by asking such things as, "Remember when this happened?" or "Did you notice this person wasn't feeling well?"

After the child responds with their observation, the adult can then go into explaining what's happening. (More on how to do that below.)

This is also a good time to reassure the child that what is happening is not their fault, Schneider said.

"Small children are very egocentric, they usually experience emotions that their parents have as having something to do with them," she said.

Parents should understand that one conversation about the situation won't suffice.

The child will let you know when they're ready for more information. Experts say that when children ask questions spontaneously, later in the day or on another day, that means they're ready to hear more.

Young children tend to ask the same question over and over, which tells the adult they want to learn more about the situation, Ingman said. This is a good framework for giving information incrementally through a series of conversations.

"It just helps reassure them that the adults in their life are trustworthy," Ingman said, because the adults are informing them.

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