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Magical thinking of grieving children
Magical thinking is a term also used to describe phenomena of the thinking processes of young children, particularly those between the ages of two to five years. Children who evidence magical thinking often feel that they are responsible for an event or events occurring, or are capable of reversing an event simply by thinking about it and wishing for a change. Make-believe and fantasy are an integral part of life at this age and are often used to explain the unexplainable.

According to Piaget, children within this age group are often “egocentric”, believing that what they feel and experience is the same as everyone else’s feelings and experiences. At this age, as well, there is often a lack of understanding that there may be other explanations for events aside from what they have comprehended. What happens outside of their understanding needs to be explained using what they already know, because of an inability to fully comprehend abstract concepts.

Magical thinking is found particularly in children’s explanations of experiences about death, whether the death of a family member or pet, or their own illness or impending death. These experiences are often new for a young child, who then has no experience to give understanding of the ramifications of the event. Magical thinking may be used to provide an explanation for what is to a child unexplainable – that death is final and irreversible. A child may feel that they are responsible for what has happened, simply because they were upset with the person who died, or perhaps played with the pet too roughly. There may also be the idea that if the child wishes it hard enough, or performs just the “right” act, the person or pet may choose to come back, and not be dead any longer. When considering their own illness or impending death, some children may feel that they are being punished for doing something wrong, or not doing something they should have, and therefore have become ill.

If a child’s ideas about an event are incorrect because of their magical thinking, there is a possibility that the conclusions the child makes could result in long-term beliefs and behaviours that create difficulty for the child as they mature. Children need great understanding in the event of a circumstance that may bring about magical thinking that could become negative for them. Clear, concise, and age-appropriate explanations about the event are necessary, along with the understanding on the part of the care-givers that many similar explanations may be necessary to allow the child to fully assimilate the information that will help them understand what has occurred.