Hello all - first time poster here.
My four year old has been mentioning Hitler off and on for at least a year; I assume he overheard me talking to his older sister about WWII. He has sometimes talked about "before I was in your belly" and made other references to times before he (or others) was born. All of this I've taken with a grain of salt - I am open to the idea of reincarnation but have no personal experience myself.
However this morning he was a bit more concrete, telling me that "Hitler shoot me down, and you and [my sister] too" and "my house died" and "Why is Hitler in this world?" and "But now [Hitler] is died, and he is in a far faraway place." He seems to be clear that this happened in the past, before he was in my belly, and that Hitler is dead now. (This at 6:30 am this morning, having just climbed into bed with me, while I was still barely awake.)
My question is, what is the most "healthy" way to handle these types of statements? Do I ignore, encourage, reassure? My instinct is not to make a big deal about it, reassure him he's safe now, and not ask leading questions. He is not upset at all when he tells me these things; he's very matter-of-fact. He is a cheerful, well adjusted kiddo with no apparent anxiety or unusual thoughts/behaviors.
A bit more info for those interested: He has asked me before "Was Hitler a bad baby?" and "Was Hitler's mom bad?" Once when I was explaining that bacon comes from pigs, he asked "how did the pig died?" - then immediately, "Did Hitler do it?" He's told me that sometimes when you "get old age" and die you turn into somebody else, and that "when you die you can sometimes turn into an animal."
Looking forward to members' thoughts. Thank you!
My four year old has been mentioning Hitler off and on for at least a year; I assume he overheard me talking to his older sister about WWII. He has sometimes talked about "before I was in your belly" and made other references to times before he (or others) was born. All of this I've taken with a grain of salt - I am open to the idea of reincarnation but have no personal experience myself.
However this morning he was a bit more concrete, telling me that "Hitler shoot me down, and you and [my sister] too" and "my house died" and "Why is Hitler in this world?" and "But now [Hitler] is died, and he is in a far faraway place." He seems to be clear that this happened in the past, before he was in my belly, and that Hitler is dead now. (This at 6:30 am this morning, having just climbed into bed with me, while I was still barely awake.)
My question is, what is the most "healthy" way to handle these types of statements? Do I ignore, encourage, reassure? My instinct is not to make a big deal about it, reassure him he's safe now, and not ask leading questions. He is not upset at all when he tells me these things; he's very matter-of-fact. He is a cheerful, well adjusted kiddo with no apparent anxiety or unusual thoughts/behaviors.
A bit more info for those interested: He has asked me before "Was Hitler a bad baby?" and "Was Hitler's mom bad?" Once when I was explaining that bacon comes from pigs, he asked "how did the pig died?" - then immediately, "Did Hitler do it?" He's told me that sometimes when you "get old age" and die you turn into somebody else, and that "when you die you can sometimes turn into an animal."
Looking forward to members' thoughts. Thank you!
I would not discourage your son from talking about his past life memories. You can ask open ended questions like "what was your name?", "where did you live?", etc. Start keeping a journal and write everything down. Have you read any books on reincarnation? Carol Bowman has written two, "Children's Past Life Memories" and "Return From Heaven". Many of your questions are answered there.
