We were forced to discuss death a lot when my dad died from cancer. Between my sister and I we had 4 kids age 3 and under at the time. DS is also a very sensitive, anxious little guy but handled everything amazingly well. I answered all of his questions as honestly as I could even when the answer was "I don't know". We had a tonne of books on the subject that a friend gave us to help spring board the conversation since we knew they were going to have to deal with it more than most toddlers. We still have amazing discussions every once in a while on the topic. Their insights blow me away sometime.
Going through the experience the biggest piece of advice that really struck me was something along the lines of - Death is a part of life and this is your chance to teach your children about death. Teach them how to grieve but also teach them how to live and remember. If you treat it like something that shouldn't be talked about and is scary they will pick up on that.
Obviously, it is a bit different when you aren't forced to discuss it in the context of a loved one but perhaps looking at the big picture will help you to frame the approach that you want to use and what beliefs or philosophies you have that you can share. It was fascinating to hear the kid's ideas (and hear them evolve over the past 4 years) and have them form the start of their own beliefs on the subject.
