Inevitably, the subject evokes premonitions as well as memories of grief, and fear. However, when we examine and come to accept our own feelings and attitudes, it may be easier to help our children come to terms with this difficult fact of life. It is probably best if the young child's first introduction to the concept of death and the procedures involved in burial and so forth are first discussed concerning someone who has not been close to him. It is also probably best to let children lead into the subject themselves. The majority of young children will express some curiosity about death, perhaps provoked by seeing insects or animals killed.
Some children even experiment with killing small insects.
The ability to grasp the concept of death as an irreversible end to life is related in part to the young child's understanding of time. For most children under age five, death seems to be a reversible process. Many children in this age group still equate death with the cycle of sleeping and waking and the separation that goes with a long journey and ultimate reunion. Research of recent years indicates that adults go through predictable stages of grief. However, it is not clear that preschoolers do.