Children can only conceive of death according to their stage of development. The children’s emotional understanding is not based entirely on their age. Therefore, children who have come into contact with the death of a loved one may have a greater understanding of the concept of death than other children their age.

Children’s interpretation of death will depend on the amount of knowledge they have acquired emotionally, physically, and intellectually. Children must learn that death is a final and last act, instead of one that can be reversed or avoided. Children’s ability to understand death happens through their experiences and their social interactions with others; therefore, children express grief differently. Thus, their actions and reactions are closely related to their developmental stage and understanding.

Very young children often view death as temporary. This belief is reinforced through television, especially through cartoon characters that die then comes back to life. As children get older they begin to understand the concept of death, but they think it will never happen to them or the people they

• Loss of bladder control, bowel control, or constipation

Children may not be able to verbalize their feelings because they lack the skills necessary to do so. The child may be overwhelmed because of the death and act out their feelings, because they are in a state of crisis. Greenstone and Leirton in their book Elements of Crisis Interaction, 1993 gave these typical reactions to death by children ages one through five: (pg. 47)

These signs may be warning indicators that professional help is needed. Experts say that six months is a normal amount of time in the grief process. After this amount of time then the child should begin to resume a normal routine.

• An extended period of depression in which the child loses interest in daily activities and events.

• Anxiety and Fear. “The child may wonder who will take care of him now, or fear that some other person they love will die. He may cling to his parents or ask other people who play an important role in his life if they love them.”

Some topics in this essay:
Anxiety Fear, Grieve Children’s, Crisis Interaction, Grief Children, Physical Symptoms, P3 Dishonest, “the child, reactions death, age children, person died, Greenstone Leirton, grief children, person died feel, angry person died, • reassure, dead person, cause death, angry person, understand death, death • reassure, • encourage child,