5 yr old depression or not

Hi,

my 5 yr old kindergartner has been having some difficulty in school, the typical not listening,not following directions, being disruptive which has actually gotten better after the holidays.  We did have a bout of self hitting/I hate myself when he does something wrong but that has pretty much been corrected.
Well right before the holidays we had to put our dog to sleep which I had for 14 yrs but my son has had him for  his entire life.  Any how,   out of the blue yesterday at school the teacher informed me that he started to cry and say he wanted to kill himself and when he asked about it the teacher said he knew that he would die forever.  When I asked him about it he started to cry saying "Mommy
when you get older you will die and I don't want that to happen to you because I love you?"  He has never said this before?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[SL345]

I've had similar discussions with my daughter. It isn't unusual for kids to come to this realization as this age, especially upon losing a pet. It's a brutal reality to come to terms with. I spoke to my daughter about the reality of death, shared that it is sad and hard to accept, but nevertheless a part of life. We read books about death written for children her age. One book called Lifetimes is a simply, beautifully and powerfully written children's book but there are many others. It seems a leap from what you're describing to the idea of depression, but something that needs to be discussed and dealt with in an ongoing way. Try to get him to open up to you about his fears. if you're religious promote your beliefs. Usually children at this age fear separation from their parents. Let us know if you have specific questions and we can try to help more. Good luck.