Death and Dying

Student’s Name

Institution

Course Name/Number

Instructor Name

Due Date

Death and Dying

Introduction

Death is a permanent thing in life because once someone dies, he/she never comes back. People from different communities perceive death to varying angles in that some accept that death is the final phase of life. In contrast, others think that death is facilitated by human action, and hence they avoid it. After the end of our loved ones, it is not accepted easy and follows a process, and it takes time to acknowledge our loved one is gone and will never come back. People cannot prevent death, but some approaches such as palliative care, hospice care, and acute medical treatment approaches can heal the patients or prolong their lives. Medical professionals and family caregiver may dedicate their effort to help the patient recover and lead a normal. Still, the patient himself may choose to die over experiencing much pain, which seems no end. Such decisions are hard to make or support because they violate legal laws and religious faith.

Describe the American Avoidance of Death and Dying

Death and dying are not popular topics of discussion among Americans, and they portray it as a taboo to share stories concerning death. Instead, they confront anything likely to bring about death, and such conversations are considered morbid. Till the 19^th century, Americans were not familiar with death and dying, and most of the deaths would occur at home, mainly because most people took care of their dead (Van Scoy et al., 2016). The silence and avoidance that shape contemporary Americans towards death can be broken through by teaching youth that death is natural and cannot be avoided since it is the last phase of life. Instead of hiding them from the fear of death, they need an opportunity and equipment to explore their relationship with death.

Perception of Death from Birth to 12 Years of Age

Infants and Toddlers

Toddlers and infants lack an understanding of death, although they can sense what their caregiver is going through. To the infants, death does not mean much though they feel afraid and anxious when their caregivers are scared, depressed, angry, or sad (Fredman, 2018). Toddlers cannot understand the difference between life and death or whether death is permanent, even with the experience with death.

Preschooler

Preschoolers' children believe death is temporary because they of the cartoons' characters are bouncing back to life after death. Since young children are good thinkers, seeing things in their actual pictures and hearing things in a literal manner, it is significant that they are told what death means in simple and straightforward language. The caregiver should avoid using euphemisms like 'he has gone to sleep' this the child would misinterpret the real meaning of death, and that may spark fear of sleeping (Fredman, 2018). . The children should be told that their loved one has died and he will never come back. Parents should be prepared to answer their children when they ask where the deceased is and give concrete answers that he had died.

School-Aged Children

At the school's age, children start to understand as a final event in life, but they lack universal understanding. Give children hone and simple explanations concerning what happens and ask him what he understands.  Spare time to clear up any form of misconception the child might be having concerning death (Fredman, 2018). Children may need their parents and caregivers to find ways to express their emotions and find ways to feel relieved. Give children repeated opportunities to air their feeling since it is more crucial to listen than to utter the perfect word.