They are all potential, all innocence, all joy. They are also intimately related to our own fears of death. In a way, children soften the idea of our own passing. They give us a sense of the continuity of life. I think, deep down, most people yearn for some glimmer of immortality.
Children can be that glimmer.
They carry on our stories and memories, if only for a generation This takes the finality out of death and so is a comfort of sorts. When children die, the continuity of life is disrupted. With that comes a sense of the brevity and insignificance of our own lives. We all struggle with what to say to the families hit by these tragedies. Everything that comes to mind sounds like a clich , impersonal and meaningless.