I agree, Bath - kids tend to fear what their parents fear. I've heard so many parents (through the Homebirth network) say that their kids have such a normal idea of birth with no fear about it They also reckons it makes a big difference in sibling relations (at least for the younger years!) to see their baby brother or sister being born.
My parents' dog died a few weeks ago and I decided to tell Oscar right away. I didn't want to explain it to him when they got here and he'd ask for the dog, and he 'gets it' as much as a 3yo can get the fact that the dog's not going to be around anymore. He was a bit young this time last year to fathom that his great grandfather had died. I had to explain to him that our dog was not well over the weekend and he eventually caught onto what that meant, too.
Well, the neighbour parent sent over sangas and melon, so that sweetens the deal a bit (sangas for the kids, I can eat my own thing from the safety of my study!). Geez, older kids need a lot more attention! I've got either brother or sister dobbing on the other or on Oscar - sheesh. Ok, one's gone home now, so I'm just dealing with the sister (who's too scared to watch the Dark Crystal, so Oscar has just learned to compromise and watch Hairy McLary!). The little brother sulked home after scratching his leg in a fall and I think I was supposed to make a bigger deal of it than it actually was...oh, well! All is quiet and I can think again...ETA: little brother is back with a Ben10 toy (fan-friggin-tastic) and they're watching The Silver Brumby. Oh, dear, what happened to my chilled out day??