When would a child first understand death?

Question

I am writing a story set in Medieval England, and one of the main characters is a girl who is three years old at the time, and her mother dies after giving birth to hers brother who dies shortly after their mother.

I was wondering how much the girl would understand about where her mother was gone.

Also after this, her father leaves her for London and is executed when she is about four and a half. How much would she understand the deaths of her parents?

Would she know what had happened to them or just think they'd gone away somewhere?
I understand different children mature differently but if she was quite clever for example she was speaking almost perfectly by three would she understand or not?

Thanks to everyone who helps with this.

Marcus · Answer

A few links to get you started :) Happy writing! See links for more ideas.

Age 2 - 6 years:
Often believes that death is reversible, temporary
May perceive death as a punishment
Engages in magical thinking that wishes come true -- may feel guilt for negative feelings toward the person who died, and think that was the cause of death

children under 5 years old do not understand that death is final and inevitable. Children, between 5 and 9 years old, who do acknowledge the permanence and inevitability of death see it as something that only applies to older adults

Toddler: the terms "death" or "forever" or "permanent" may not have real value to children of this age group. Even with previous experiences with death, the child may not understand the relationship between life and death

Jon H · Answer

I think that short lived pets are a child's first experience of death. A pet  mouse for example will only live a few years. You could have your character experience the death of a pet and relate it to to the death of her mother.

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When would a child first understand death?

2 Answers