My brother died, I'm not sure if I should let my 6 year old son view his body.

My brother died last week of a heroin overdose, he was 19. I come from a Catholic family and it's normal to have a wake where the body is viewed. I remember being his age and seeing the bodies of deceased family members and though it was strange, I hardly knew them. My son was quite close to my brother before his addiction was in full swing. My son is taking his death quite carelessly. He knows that my brother became a "bad" person as my brother did some destructive things my son unfortunately knew about.I don't think he quite understands how final death is and while I've tried to explain it to him he can't quite understand why everyone is upset. He just figures everyone will see him in heaven and it's not a big deal. Funny because I'm personally an atheist and have raised him without religion, yet he likes the idea of heaven, always has, so I'm fine with his beliefs. He is having a hard time understanding why everyone is sad and that it's not appropriate to laugh and play while everyone is in mourning. I tried to be as honest as possible about how he died, the dangers of drugs and all that. My son is quite literal and all that has stuck is that my brother killed himself. I'm not sure I went about this the right way, but death sucks no matter how it happens so I thought it was best not to sugar coat it. That probably deserves its own post but alas.Now I'm just not sure if I should let him see his uncles body. My son is a brave kid, curious as all get out, but practical. I don't think seeing his body will traumatized him, but I don't know if it will be beneficial . I know it's important for my Catholic side of the family to view the body as it's tradition and it's healing, but I feel it's outdated and that's probably for a good reason. On the other hand I don't want to shelter my child from the unfortunate truths of life and I know if I gave him the choice he would want to see him. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2BDOsOL