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Children and Death..!
By ROBERT CLEMENTS
 I
felt a deep sense of sadness hearing that two year old Sonu, the
little boy who fell into the borewell in UP was already dead by the
time rescue teams reached him. I wonder what his thoughts were as he
lay a hundred and fifty feet down, knowing he was all alone and dying.
Was he terrified of dying? Petrified about where he was going to go
from there?
What do children feel
about death?
Children ages eight through ten were asked what they thought about
death, and here are some of their answers:
Even as you smile reading
some of them, just see the simplicity of their thoughts, not just
childish innocence but some sort of trust in something we adults seem
so afraid about: Here's the first one:
'When you die, God takes care of you like your mother did when you
were alive - only God doesn't yell at you all the time.' (Beth, 9)
Then there's also close
observation, observation that makes the whole dying process so okay,
isn't it? Like this one:
'When you die, they bury you in the ground and your soul goes to
heaven, but your body can't go to heaven because it's too crowded up
there already.' (Jimmy, 8)
And something so profound as
good and evil is so natural from the lips of a child:
'Only the good people go to heaven. The other people go where it's hot
all the time like in Florida.' (Judy, 9)
And here's one so sweet but
practical what do you say?
'Maybe I'll die someday, but I hope I don't die on my birthday because
it's no fun to celebrate your birthday if you're dead.' (Jon, 9)
And a brave guy here, you
can almost see him straightening his little shoulders and saying 'I'm
not afraid to die because I'm a Boy Scout.' (Kevin, 10)
This from a boy who most
probably spent time hearing his parents talking about the high cost of
medical bills: 'Doctors help you so you won't die until you pay their
bills.' (Stephanie, 9)
Death is so simple and
matter of fact for children isn't it?
And I feel a trifle better for little Sonu. I'd also like to believe
he wasn't alone in there, that God sent him comfort, as Shyam says:
'When I think of death I imagine lovely angels coming to my bed and
taking me out to play to a beautiful lit up fairy playground where
I'll never feel lonely or miss my mom and dad!'
Maybe it's time we also
became like little children, allowing simple trusting thoughts into
our minds instead of fear and fright which overpower us when we think
of death..!
bobsbanter@gmail.com
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