<\/p>\n
By the age of\u00a0<\/span>six<\/span>, most children seem to have a fairly sophisticated understanding of death<\/span>, according to a recent review of the research<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is earlier than once thought<\/span>: t<\/span>he famous early researcher Jean Piaget<\/span>\u00a0(1896-1980)\u00a0<\/span>proposed that children could not understand death until about the age of 10.\u00a0<\/span>He\u00a0<\/span>based\u00a0<\/span>this notion\u00a0<\/span>on the idea that to understand death, children first need to understand bodily systems and how\u00a0<\/span>they\u00a0<\/span>can come to an end.<\/span><\/p>\n But as more people considered\u00a0<\/span>children\u2019s understanding of death<\/span>, the narrow focus on physicality was broadened. In the 1990s, four components of death were proposed,\u00a0<\/span>some of\u00a0<\/span>which children can start to understand much earlier,<\/span>\u00a0from<\/span>\u00a0the age of five: (1) the idea that all things die, (2) the idea that death is final an<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0irreversible, (3) the idea that death means the end of all biological and psychological processes, and (4) the idea that death has many different causes.<\/span><\/p>\n O<\/span>f course,<\/span>\u00a0studying children\u2019s understanding of death, particularly the impact of losing a loved one<\/span>, presents ethical challenges<\/span>. Grieving children deserve privacy.<\/span><\/p>\n Children\u00a0<\/span>construct<\/span>\u00a0knowle<\/span>dge, rather than just learn things. They actively ask questions, they observe events and behaviors around them, they read books and watch films. Out of all this, they establish an understanding.<\/span><\/p>\n