Developmental Stages in Understanding Death for Children

This should be used as a guide in understanding the developmental level of children, children’s understanding of death, common grief reactions, and helpful approaches and interventions for all children. It is important to note that a child's perception of death cannot be fitted into a fixed aged category. A child's ability to understand the concept of death will largely depend upon his/her cognitive development. There are several other important considerations to keep in mind when providing explanations and interventions to children who experience grief and loss: social, physical, emotional, religious, cultural, and personal experiences in understanding death. In addition, the reactions listed here are common grief reactions and may be demonstrated intermittently or continuously according to each individual child.