Let us give you a direct answer to this question right at the very beginning, and let’s dig deep later.
Do babies know when someone dies?
No, babies won’t know when someone dies. However, it depends on the age of your kid.
Yes, toddlers won’t know death, but preschoolers will definitely have some sort of understanding about it. Let’s talk more about this topic.
Do Babies know when someone dies?
Although you know the answer to this query, in order to get a firm grip, it is essential to break down the age of kids and see how they understand the death of a loved one.
How Children Understand Death – Age-Wise
Let’s see how children understand death age-wise development.
Toddlers
As we said, infants and toddlers have no chance to understand death.
That said, if the caregiver is worried or unhappy, toddlers do sense it, but they have no clue about the death or the reason behind the unhappiness of the caregiver.
This can impact the baby in a negative way. The routine that the toddler is familiar with thus far has to be maintained to keep the well-being of the baby in a healthy way. If you are a parent, it is important to provide the baby with usual care and attention and be with your baby physically as you did before the death.
Age 4-6 (preschoolers)
Although preschoolers understand death, the chances are little to no that they see the loss as a permanent one. They understand death as a temporary loss, and it happens because the preschoolers often interact with cartoons and similar stuff.
In such programs, the characters who suffer damages, or deaths for that matter, come again soon to the state they were before the incident. Kids in this age understand only what they see, and most resources refer to describe a death as a temporary incident. That is one major reason why preschoolers take death as a temporary thing; even the loss is of a close one.
In addition, the terms we use to describe preschoolers also have a role in this. Usually, people say “passed away,” “gone far away,” or “she is sleeping” to convince a death to kid. This will make it hard for them to understand death. Instead, let them know the truth in a way that is easy for them to understand.
It’s not only with death; it is imperative to let the preschoolers know the truth, whatever the case is. Else, removing it from their heads won’t be easy, and they will not prefer to take the truth as truth.
Schooling-aged children
Even though schooling children have a better understanding of death compared to toddlers and preschoolers, they might not see death as something that happens to all. As a parent, it’s your duty to reveal to them how the death has happened, and it is a universal thing.
However, there are chances that they take the situation more seriously than needed, which can be damaging to the kid. Your child could develop loads of misunderstandings and get a feel of loneliness. Spend some time with your kid and let them know the possibilities of death.
This has to be done carefully. As an example, you should convince the kid that not all illnesses would cause deaths. Also, the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, likewise. Moreover, the whole death situation can be a frustrating event for your kid. They will keep a close eye on you how you behave. In that sense, we think it is better to focus on the living ones rather than the ones who went away!
When a loved one dies, do these things with your kid
As you now know, do babies know when someone dies?
Let’s figure out some other important things you have to keep in your mind, particularly if you have kids, not babies. For babies, we already explained how you should go about the work previously in the article.
Listen to your kid
Your kid will throw various difficult-answer questions at you when a closed one passes away. Your mental condition might not be ideal to answer those queries. However, explaining the whole situation is mandatory to keep your kid in good shape; if not, the impact of death and misunderstandings can be long-lasting.
Words over feelings
This is important. Once we face such a situation, feelings tend to take the upper hand over words. But, giving preference to feelings over words won’t work with little kids. Yes, comforting them with unreal words would bring some relief to you as well as your kid, but those words can be confusing to your kid.
Tell them what to expect
If the death has a significant impact on the lifestyle and day to events of your kid, it is crucial to educate them on what to expect in the near future. Also, what the kid will miss due to the loss. As we previously said, preschoolers in particularly may think the death is a temporary one and expect the person would come back and do the things that he or she did for the kid.
There is a role for the kid as well
Don’t let your kid stay alone while the death-related works are going on. There are ample opportunities available for you to ask your kid to get involved with. We are not naming the activities, but the point is that giving your child a role during the time will prevent the time he spends sad and understand the customs as well.
Don’t do these with kids when someone dies
Similar to dos, there are some that don’t as well. Here are some of them.
Don’t change the daily routines of your kid
Letting the death impact on daily routines of your kid is something that you should avoid. If you let this take place, the kid will feel the loss more significantly, and it can hamper the mental well-being of your kid.
Don’t block the laughter of your kid
Because someone has passed away, you must not act as a barrier to your kid’s laughter. Actually, it works oppositely as laughter is one of the best methods to get rid of sadness. The less you let the sadness creep inside the head of your kid, the better it will become.
Don’t say lies
We explained the importance of this aspect throughout the article and had to include it in the don’ts as well. It’s that crucial. Especially if your kid is at the age of 4-6, don’t fill their minds with lies regarding death. In addition, changing the subject when your kid comes to the room is also something that you should be not doing. Instead, let your child know the entire story.
Don’t stop sharing the memories of the deceased
This is another element that most parents do oppositely. They are afraid of speaking or memorizing the lost loved one. However, researches show that remembering them frequently has the tendency to relieve the pain than not doing so.
Conclusion
So, going back to the main topic of this report, which is, do babies know when someone dies, we hope that you can remember us saying babies won’t know about the death of a person. However, when they grow up, they take death differently.
That is why we explained everything in detail so that you can handle the situation much more efficiently with the kid. Yes, the death of a loved one is not an easy thing to deal with, but focusing more on living ones, especially the kids, should be considered a priority. So, keep your chin up and face the situation letting your brain control things over your heart. Cheers!
