1. Cognitive characteristics of death
I can't tell the difference between "death" and "separation", and it is most important to have strong "separation anxiety" and intimate and continuous physical contact at this stage.
Preschool children understand "death" as lying still, not breathing, playing house and pretending to be dead, but they can't realize that "life" and "death" can't coexist. They often think that death is reversible and temporary, just like cartoons. They often associate death with sleeping or traveling, and sometimes they are afraid of sleeping.
Children of this age will be full of fantasy and magical thinking about death, and believe that their own thoughts or actions will lead to someone's death. Children will also associate "death" with "old", but they are not sure what "old" is. Children who are seriously ill will not think that they may die unless they get relevant death information from adults.
Children of this age need continuous physical contact, repeated comfort and gentle teaching until they form a mature view of death.
From 6 years old to 12 years old, understanding the functional stage of death and the abstract thinking stage over 12 years old is moving towards a mature view of death.
Therefore, no matter how young children are, they will have their own direct or indirect death experience. Avoiding the topic of death will suppress his natural life experiences and feelings, making it difficult for him to find a way to dredge them.
Educational principles
No matter what form of education is adopted, its starting point and foothold should follow the following two points.
1. Death is natural. The purpose of education, of course, is not to make children afraid of death and produce psychological shadows, but to let children know that death is natural and even very appropriate, so that they can face death calmly with a normal heart.
2. Death expect the unexpected. Under normal circumstances, death is the time when our life functions are exhausted. However, there are too many examples of abnormal death in life. We can't really know when and where people around us will leave us.
How to explain life and death to children?
When communicating the topic of death with your baby, you must give it poetic beauty while empathizing with it, and find some most suitable ways to educate your child about life in combination with the situation.
Method 1: Tell a family story.
Guiding children to know that death is a natural life phenomenon can start with sharing family stories together.
It is suggested that when family members get together to chat, they can find out the yellowed photos and talk to their children about their parents' biological parents or grandparents who have passed away. Where did they come from? Do what? How many children do you have? What did they like to play at that time? What to eat? What is the happiest or saddest thing? You can also draw these stories with your children, and gradually understand life and death in drawing and telling stories.