Funeral games with kids
A mouse between the rug
I am amazed at how special children deal with death. In my work as a pedagogical employee, I often speak to children who have been in contact with death. They then talk very lightly about how their beloved pet died or a grandpa or grandma.
Yesterday I worked another day at after-school care. Before starting my shift, I found a little mouse hidden between a rolled carpet, alive. Right when I found the mouse, the first kids came in. Curious when children are, they came directly to me and asked what I had found. I showed them the mouse and asked them what to do with the mouse. The children thought it was best for the mouse to put it back into nature.
So said, so done! Together with the children already present, the mouse has been put back into nature.
About 1 hour later, we went to play outside with the kids. Then a child came to me with a shovel with the mouse on it. The child told the mouse was dead. I asked the child how to know for sure? As an answer, I was told that I could see that anyway? The mouse stopped breathing and was no longer moving, so had to be dead. I asked the child what to do with it? That was simple anyway? Buried of course. But not on the side of the pasture, because that's where the cat sometimes came, it might be able to dig up the mouse as a snack.
Day mouse
Together with this child and in the meantime also other curious children, we looked for a nice place in front of the mouse so that we could bury the mouse.
When I asked if the children wanted to say anything to the mouse, the answers were very diverse: 'Now you may be dead calmly', 'The cat can't get you anymore because you're under the ground', 'Mouse is probably going to eat a lot of cheese in mouse sky'. After these words, the children thought that the place of mouse should really become a place for mouse. They only found buried so boring, because in a real graveyard there were also flowers on the grave and a stone for the deceased. For mouse, it had to be.
How the result became?
With these words I conclude: 'Rest soft sweet little mouse'.
Loading full article...
14 comments
Lovely right? ? How wonderfully honest kids can be. Open to be able and allowed to deal with death whenever the adult does so.
Incredible, children have that way of reasoning with death, it is in such a way that they usually act calmly but asking about the subject.
Children tend to assimilate one better, although all children have a great mind with which they see death differently
Wonderful how these kids deal with that. And also very nice that you share this with us, @vanrupstotvlinder .
@Flying Eagle gladly done. I come across these types of cases more often. Have my own practice for loss and grief counseling. Written more often about loss and grief among young people here on Yoors. Feel free to search my name, if you haven't read everything yet.
It seems to me that children with their innocence see everything with curiosity is their way of seeing even the death of an animal, interesting very good publication work
Although it also depends on each child, my son at the death of his grandfather at the age of 10, acted calm at first, then knowing that he would leave forever full of tears and sadness, I guess that every child is a world
@Alberto yes true, every child reacts different. I have written about loss and grief earlier here on Yoors.
Undoubtedly, something that children go through is the fact that they are curious, death is one of them act with surprise.
For children, everything is new and surprising. They are therefore always curious and deal less cramped with life and death.
@Rudy Siedlecki 🌳 that's definitely right yes. Of course, I wrote a lot about it in my posts about it #verlies and #rouw bee #jeugdigen
then €5.99/month after 14 days
Start your 14-day free trial now to publish your sponsored content. Cancel anytime.