I told my little girl about angels yesterday...

[Astonished]

She's 6 and was having a "big questions" moment yesterday evening, talking about death.  I told her that "it happens to everyone" but that for her, "it is a long, long time away..."  I told her that when a person dies that person is buried in the ground, but then she got really upset and started crying, asking, "That's what they will do to me?!  Put me in the ground!"  And, so, I soon told her that after awhile that the person turns into an angel, and a short time later, she got very happy and we went online and a looked at pictures of angels, and then, lots of questions about what angels eat, the clothes they wear, whether they visit the Earth or leave it, etc., etc.  We also talked about guinea pig angels and cats angels, etc.

I am not raising my kids to be atheists, but to think for themselves, and so, we have taught our kids about the existence of Santa Claus, fairies, etc., and I figure, when they get old enough, they'll figure it out.  Still, I have always known how religious faith can be comforting, especially, to a little child, but to see it in action, was a bit of an epiphanic moment for me.

Still, though, I don't believe in any of it, like Santa Claus, but I was so happy to see my little girl comforted.

You're planting a potentially very dangerous seed. Others will pick up on this and prey on her out of your ability to temper. I wouldn't go down that road at all. You could use the 'before you were born' analogy, or the truth, that there's no pain or suffering anymore, or the prospect of finding out if indeed there is anything beyond what we can know that happens after death, so that's something to look forward to in some small way, a major discovery at the end of the journey of life.