A mature concept of death

A Mature Concept of Death
Death is perceived by children differently depending on their age bracket and their level of intelligence and understanding. But in the general view dead is seen a complex due to the many sub-concepts affiliated with it. Death has four common properties that describe it that is; it is universal, unavoidable and all inclusive, it is irreversible. Death is also signified by the non-functionality of an individual’s physiological parts. Finally, it possesses an aspect of causality that is, there is a biological explanation to explain its cause. The understanding of a child about the concept of death evolves as they grow with rapid development at some ages.
The development of an understanding of mortality by a child is a process involving continuous changes and refining of already existing knowledge and insights. At different stages, children try to fit their understanding to their world at that time, as they try to keep their world in the balance and to be at peace with their conclusions. Children are progressive thinkers, and this explains the variations and advancement in their understanding, illustrated by their behaviors when interacting with new things. During infancy and toddlerhood, a child develops a sense of trust and link with his or her immediate environment. When they reach early childhood they only know death is bad and brings some sadness but are uncertain if they would die themselves someday. In school, a child interacts and starts thinking logically thereby understanding death more clearly.

Socializing and interactions of kids with their environment and other people are some of the factors that help them progress their concept of death. The culture, norms, beliefs and practices of a certain community of society influence how fast this idea develops. Other communities allow exposure of minors in burials while others forbid such involvements. Parents were also instrumental in the development of children because they were the ones who answered questions about death and passed their beliefs to them. In school and at home, children interacted with their peers and school mates and shared ideas during games and sports and others read about death in books. Media also contributed to the rapid growth of knowledge for adolescent minors as they understood what was going and could interpret what they so and more about death.
Children are sometimes privileged to learn about death first hand from their parents from everyday experiences that arise an opportunity to talk about death. Encounters with death by children for example when a sibling dies, this occurrence teaches the child about the concept of death. They understand from an early age that death is final and not reversible. Minors who experience death too early can be traumatized, and their knowledge about death is significantly altered, this can be seen expressed in their drawings and also their attitudes. The beliefs about death formulated by children are typically affected by factors such as the locality of residence, religion, period and the experiences with death encountered.
Case studies by sociologists have tried to explain theoretically these behaviors and attitudes associated with different children, age groups and their beliefs about death. They explain basing on the whole social structure regarding community and family. The researchers then described the nature of the relationship between the various components in the social structure and how they influence each other. They also analyzed the criteria in which a person become a member of a certain society regarding personality, behavior, and the situation. These theories and findings help to mature the understanding of death despite the diverse cultures and beliefs by individuals and also tribes or societies.