Just like adults, children of all ages need time and understanding in order to process the concept of death and dying. This process is much different for children than it is for adults. There are 4 components relative to children's understanding of death: (a) the irreversibility factor, (b) finality, (c) inevitability, and (d) causality. These 4 components relate directly to the developmental level of the child at the time the death occurs. Knowing how children's concept of death is constructed provides parents and caregivers important information and helps them respond more sensitively to what children might feel and experience. This article provides an overview of how children under-stand death, concrete strategies for talking to children about death, and suggestions for teachers about how to help children through grief and mourning.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010. / Directed by Judith Niemeyer; submitted to the Dept. of Specialized Education Services. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jul. 14, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 146-160).

[pt] A noção da terminalidade humana comumente é percebida quando ocorre a morte de uma pessoa com quem se tem intenso vínculo de afeto. O luto pode ser entendido como um processo natural e esperado frente a morte, vivenciado a partir da singularidade de cada pessoa e de seu contexto sócio-histórico. Especificamente, luto decorrente de homicídio pode promover significativas repercussões pessoais e sociais na vida das pessoas enlutadas. As crianças também são impactadas pela experiência do luto e, especialmente, quando perdem seus familiares de forma violenta. Considerando os referidos aspectos, este estudo teve como objetivo geral investigar o processo de luto vivenciado por duas crianças que perderam familiares vítimas de homicídio. Para tanto, foram realizadas duas avaliações psicológicas em que foram utilizados diferentes procedimentos e instrumentos psicológicos. Participaram dois meninos com idades entre seis e oito anos, residentes no estado Rio de Janeiro, que perderam o irmão e o pai vítimas de homicídio. Cada caso foi analisado em profundidade e de forma idiossincrática, sendo os instrumentos e procedimentos analisados individualmente e seus resultados integrados e interpretados a partir da Teoria Bioecológica do Desenvolvimento Humano. Esse estudo propôs novas perspectivas empíricas e teóricas para a avaliação psicológica do luto infantil no contexto da violência urbana. Sugeriu, ainda, o desenvolvimento de novos estudos em prol da melhoria da qualidade de vida das crianças enlutadas no referido contexto de perda. / [en] The notion of human terminality is commonly perceived when a death of a loved one occurs. Grief can be understood as a natural and expected process in the front of death, experienced from the uniqueness of each person and their socio-historical context. Grief cause by homicide, specifically, can promote meaningful personal and social repercussions on the lives of the grieving people. Children are also impacted by the experience of grief and, especially, when they lose their family members violently. Considering these aspects, the objective of the study is to investigate the process of grieving experienced by two children who lost family members victims of homicide. Two psychological evaluations were used, for each evaluation, different psychological procedures and instruments were included. Participated on the study two boys aged from six to eight years old, resident in the state of Rio de Janeiro, who lost their brother and father victims of homicide. Each case was analyzed depth and individually, in the sequence the instruments and procedures were corrected, and the results were assessed using the Bioecological Theory of Human Development approach. This study proposed new empirical and theoretical perspectives for the psychological assessment of child bereavement in the context of urban violence. It also suggested the development of new studies in order to improve the quality of life of bereaved children in the referred context of loss.