Implications Of Death On A Child Essay

Growing up in a single parent home, regardless of if a parent has died or there was a death it still takes a toll on a child. This may impact the development of a child’s development, although; “… only after age 9 does the child understand that death is the cessation of corporeal life, and that as a process it has the distinction of being universal” (Childers, Wimmer 1299). Even though a child at the moment may not understand the concept of death, there is still a longterm impact on their development. Many underestimate the importance that the parent-child relationship has in a child’s development, “Observational studies of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers have shown that, in most ways, fathers are as significant to their children and as competent in caregiving as mothers are” (Russell, Russell 1573). While many view the mother as the main caregiver in development, a father is also an important role when it comes to caregiving. The interaction between both mother and father is imperative for the future of a child, and without it there may be many impacts. “The nature of parent-child relationships will obviously change as the child develops and as the context of parent- child interactions changes” (Russell, Russell 1573). As a child develops communication continues to become more important within their relationship, and with out this communication a child’s development can be truly impacted. Obviously, with the loss of a parent a child’s development will impacted, for many children these impacts will follow them even into late adulthood. “Differences in child behavior following a parent’s death are related in large part to the gender of the deceased parent and, to some extent, to the gender of the child” (Worden 91). Male and female may look at a parent to fulfill a different role in their lives, causing the loss of a certain parent to effect each in a different way. In the case of Elinor and Marianne for instance, they allowed the loss of their father to effect them to continue to search for the love of a man. On may assume that the search of this love was a hope to fill the place of their father. Filling the place of not only his love, but also his protection and support. “Children who lost an opposite-gender parent felt more fear for the safety of the surviving parent and reported more health problems in the first year” (Worden 92), Elinor and Marianne are concerned for the wellbeing of not only their mother, but also their little sister Margret. As referred to earlier, Elinor takes a motherly role in her family to protect them, and be sure that they are well off, but this is also seen in some actions of Marianne. Not only does gender have to do with the impact of a parental death on a child, but also the order of birth, for instance; “During the early months following the death, first borns saw themselves as more like the dead parent than the surviving parent, when compared to children born later” (Woren 93). …show more content…
Older children are also more likely to be known to be more concerned with the topic of personal safety according the study that Woren conducted, and this is portrayed perfectly through Elinor. She is constantly concerned with not only her own wellbeing, but also that of her family. She continues throughout the book to put her own feelings aside, and think about her families feelings first. Although, at the time this may seem to be a positive action later in life this may cause many issues in later relationships. The birth order of a child seems to prove that the first born child takes on much of the responsibility after a parent has passed away, and through research this is proven to be true. First borns take note of changes in the surviving parent, and also tend to behave in ways that they figure would please the parent that has passed away. According to research, the death of a parent has a large psychological impact on the first born child. Parental roles are necessary in the development of a child. Without the role of both parents there is much room for the hinderance of development, and also the change in personality. The trauma of losing