Around what age do human beings begin to understand death and realize that they, themselves, will die one day?

Question

Do you suppose that even the death of a child's beloved pet can trigger interest in this sad part of existence? Frankly, I don't think it would take a relative's or friend's death to cause interest.

Answer 1

For me, it happened around the age of five. I was in Kindergarten and my friend's grandmother died in their home. I saw the funeral director bring her body out of the house on a stretcher. Her head was covered with a white sheet and her body was strapped down. They hit a bump while wheeling the stretcher down the driveway, and the sheet came off a bit and exposed her head. My father watched this too, and I started to cry. Mostly, I cried because I was frightened. I remember my father telling me, after I asked him about death, that I wasn't going to die for a "long, long, long time." Let's hope he's right.

Answer 2

I'm taking a child and adolescent psychology class and the professor said it's around 8 or 9, depending on when the child first has to deal with the death of a relative or family friend

Answer 3

For me it is like looking through a tunnel and seeing the getting closer and closer. At around the age of 45 I began examining the reality death and dying. When young, the idea of dying someday did not exist. I though I would live forever, a month in time seemed forever. This is a good question and one that I need to further examine.

Answer 4

I agree that every human is interested in themselves, but all of those other things are a bit dependent on age, maturity, and mental capacity. For instance, a toddler wouldn't be interested in sex. An autistic person wouldn't be interested in human relations. Makes sense for the most part though, if you're just talking about the general public.

Answer 5

I would think.. that as soon as one experiences a death of someone close to them and they are old enough to understand the concept of death, and the pain... then they begin to realize the circle of life and how it works.

I don't think it actually HIT me until I was about 15. I mean, I knew you could die.. and I knew death existed.. but I never really understood the complexity of it and how much it affects everyone close to you.

Answer 6

The realization of ones mortality comes at various ages. My son at the age of 4 new that his grandfather died but did not understand the finality of it for a couple years after. So there fore based on my sons experience I would say that 6 years old would be about the earliest.

Answer 7

50

Answer 8

My daughter will be 6 in a few days and she has been asking me about dying for the last few months. She is very worried about it. I told her she isn't going to die for a long time so she does not need to worry about it yet. She wants to know where she will go after she dies.

Answer 9

I lived with that fear of dying every day during WW2 in Europe. None of us kids knew if we came home from school if our parents would still be alive or that our school would be bombed and we may never see home again. That fear lingered with me for decades. I was 8 the day the war started in Belgium.

Answer 10

Age 10, unless one of their young friends dies. In high school, a good friend of mine drove his car through the ice on a frozen river, and drowned, and that removed ALL doubt for me. A great kid, too.