This is more under "BEHAVEMENT" rather than development! Not sure how to handle dd....

[pinkbubble]

DD who is 8 was sitting on the floor this morning, when suddenly she said "Oh man, I just killed Bobbie!" I instantly stopped what I was doing and said "What!" She then repeated that she had just killed Bobbie!
Apparently she hard found one of those thunder fly thingies - you know the things that just look like a black line!

To cut a long story short, she made it a coffin, (she has carried it around all day, she made a song up for it and wrapped it in clingfilm as I told her she was too young to laminate. She has made a poem up and is in the process of making a prayer up. She has told me the funeral is next Wednesday, as she has heard from somewhere that funerals are normally held about a week after someone has died!

She went upstairs earlier for about 20 mins, when she came down I asked what she had been doing (not like her to do something on her own upstairs for that long!) - she told me she was looking through her wardrobe for something to wear to Bobbies funeral next week!

Has anyone elses DC gone through this stage over a tiny little insect, none of my other DDs have done this!

I have no idea whether to ignore or encourage -part of me thinks she expressing her caring side, another part of me thinks she is completely bonkers!

[pinkbubble]

Oh and in the title that should say BEHAVIOUR and not Behavement!!!!

[singyswife]

I think you need to speed the funeral along or you will be burying a skeleton. I would go along with it, it is obviously something that she is working through just now for whatever reason. I would have a ceremony in the garden tomorrow (tell her insects need to be buried quicker). I remember my dd (5 at the time) and her 8yo cousin playing at viewing the body after Jimmy Johnson dies. We have had a lot of death in their young lives and I think they were just playing it out. They took turns at being the body and being the undertaker. We let them do it but left periodically to laugh uncontrolably

[singyswife]

Should say died not dies.

[pofaced]

I'd say she was just acting out details of a funeral she had read about in a book/ heard about from friend with dead granny....

play is how children deal with life and I'd say she'll be a fantastic coper at all of life's significant events... unless she's upset/ upsetting anyone else, let her at it.

It's not really much different than the teddy wedding my DDs had at the weekend/ christeningthey had years ago/ the attempts to bf teddies when they were toddlers/ pee standing up when they realised that's how boys do it

[pinkbubble]

Think I might suggest that, Don't think I could quite live with the grief over a thunder fly for that long! She has even made a plot in the lawn, right in the middle because it is next to her favourite thing at the moment - the monkey bars!

Just wondered where all this came from, we have not had anybody recently die!

DD hates animals, but obviously has a soft spot somewhere!

[pinkbubble]

She is not crying or anything, maybe she just feels a bit guilty of killing "bobbie!"

[Northumberlandlass]

Apparently, as a child I did the same type of thing. Although I found a dead bee - I made a coffin for a match box (obviously lines with loo roll), then asked my eccentric grandparents if I could hold the funeral in their garden. They agreed and I made the family gather around, we had a grave dug and my mum told me that you sing hymns at funerals. I didn't know any so I sang God Save the Queen.

Sorry - that was slightly OT. But, my DS frequently holds ceremonies for dead insects / worms (he's 4.10)- I have to make sure they are dead first !!!

[pinkbubble]

DD has just shown me her prayer! In her own spelling and words!

Dear God

I hope Bobbie gets to heaven ok.
And also I want make shore Bobbie comes back to me as ok.

Thank you

have told her it might be best to have the funeral today rather than waiting for a week, she is not convinced at the moment!