Results: Too young to understand?
Published on 11/30/2023
When I was young and in Sunday school I had a classmate (Zoey) whose dog had to be put down. I had overheard Zoey's mom talking to my own mom about how old he was and his failing health. I offered my condolences to Zoey and she didn't understand what I was talking about. Her beloved family dog wasn't gone, just talking a 'nap'. Her parents told her the dog was put to sleep but didn't explain what that meant (she was like 6 to 8). That confused me. I went to her mom and asked why they hadn't tried explaining what had actually happened to their daughter. I was told it was because she was too young to understand death.
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Comments
1.
1.
I do think that there is a point where a person is too young to understand death. For me, I had 2 different cats that had to be put to sleep by that age and understood what that actually meant, so it baffled me why Zoey's mother thought she was too young. What age do you think is old enough to start grasping the idea of death, even if you don't fully understand all the intricacies of what that implies? 1-3
16%
345 votes
4-6
37%
815 votes
7-9
25%
543 votes
10+
18%
386 votes
Other (please specify)
5%
111 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2.59% | 57 | |
| NA | 0.18% | 4 |
| 15 | 0.14% | 3 |
| depends on the child | 0.14% | 3 |
| Idk | 0.09% | 2 |
| no idea | 0.09% | 2 |
| depends | 0.09% | 2 |
| Je ne sais pas | 0.09% | 2 |
| don't know | 0.09% | 2 |
| n/a | 0.09% | 2 |
| I don't know | 0.09% | 2 |
| 30 | 0.05% | 1 |
| it depends on the person | 0.05% | 1 |
| Depends on the child's understanding of things | 0.05% | 1 |
| Age appropriate ways for all ages. | 0.05% | 1 |
| NA!!! | 0.05% | 1 |
| depends on the kid | 0.05% | 1 |
| depends on the child and the situation | 0.05% | 1 |
| None | 0.05% | 1 |
| Nadie, humanamente, es capas de comprender la muerte. Se acepta si, porque no existe un no con la muerte. | 0.05% | 1 |
| 12 | 0.05% | 1 |
| It depends | 0.05% | 1 |
| Depends on the maturity of the child in question. | 0.05% | 1 |
| 75 | 0.05% | 1 |
| I don't think there is a defined point where anyone can understand death. Each person is different and the ability to comprehend death depends on so many thing, maturity being one of them. | 0.05% | 1 |
| depend on the person. bring the subjet u p as soon as an occasion present...like when the child ask about people dieying in movies | 0.05% | 1 |
| I am not sure because I was never talked about death until I was way older. The way I found out was when I watched a Bible movie for children from the public library. It was very traumatic so I say as soon as a child can somewhat understand concept | 0.05% | 1 |
| everyone is different | 0.05% | 1 |
| Each individual is different | 0.05% | 1 |
| It's different for every child depending on their level of maturity | 0.05% | 1 |
| When she can understand that the dog was suffering, she's old enough to understand death. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Depends on the child. | 0.05% | 1 |
| how should I know? | 0.05% | 1 |
| no comment | 0.05% | 1 |
| start with a pet goldfish at an age when a child is speaking, when it dies--explain and how it related to animals, people, and maybe even a "pet" plant | 0.05% | 1 |
| each person is different | 0.05% | 1 |
| never | 0.05% | 1 |
| depends on a child's maturity (and parents' recognition of it) | 0.05% | 1 |
| depends on the maturity of the child | 0.05% | 1 |
| Teen agers and older! | 0.05% | 1 |
| I don't think you can place an age on something like this! Each child sees things in a different light, and their understanding will also be different! Each child would need to be spoken to in a different way...age isn't necessarily a factor! | 0.05% | 1 |
2.
2.
It seemed like Zoey's mother was trying to spare her the pain of losing her dog because Zoey earnestly believed he might wake up. The sentiment was nice but I thought it was somewhat cruel because Zoey would eventually realize the dog wasn't coming back and she hadn't gotten to say goodbye. In general, not just for this example, do you think being able to physically say goodbye or have last words with the decreased (whether the body, an urn of ashes or a headstone) gives you a better sense of closure? Not at all
8%
173 votes
Maybe some
36%
783 votes
A lot
20%
441 votes
Depends on my relationship to the person or animal in question
37%
803 votes
COMMENTS