The Emergency Department nurse is talking with a preschooler about the death of the child's parents in an airplane crash. The preschooler asks, "Can I talk to my mommy and daddy?" The nurse responds, "They were killed, and cannot talk to you anymore." However, the nurse realizes that preschoolers might:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Preschoolers often engage in magical thinking and may not understand the permanence of death, leading them to sometimes believe that their thoughts or actions can cause events such as death. They might not fully grasp that death is permanent and might not understand the concept of death in a reality-based manner, often thinking that the deceased can come back or might still be able to communicate in some way.

The Emergency Department Nurse Is Talking with a Preschooler About