ABSTRACT
In the early 20th century, popular opinion was that “normal” children did not think about or even recognize the reality of death because this was a morbid topic; however, decades of research have shown that death concepts begin to develop in early childhood and proceed through predictable stages of development during middle childhood and adolescence. There are four generally accepted sub-concepts that make up a mature concept of death: (1) Irreversibility (the idea that once something has died it cannot come back to life); (2) finality or non-functionality (the idea that all bodily functions cease after death); (3) universality or inevitability (the idea that all living things must die); and (4) causality (an understanding of the causes that lead to death). Although there are variations among children, it is believed that a mature understanding of these death concepts is grasped between 6 and 10 years of age with death concepts becoming temporarily “fuzzy” again during adolescence as there is a process of accommodation of religious beliefs and medical knowledge. Understanding the development of death concepts will help readers to (a) recognize how children of different ages navigate and make sense of dark tourism sites, (b) design materials and signage to help caregivers, educators, and docents facilitate exploration of these sites, and (c) inform research methodologies.
