To wonder how to answer this? (Question from a 4yr old)

[devoniandarling]

"If you run out of breathe, does that mean you die?" Dd2, aged 4.

When questioned about why she was asking apparently a friend at school had said this was the case.

Dd2 is a very deep thinker!!! I don't want to make her worry or answer her incorrectly, but to me she is not technically correct. I'm forever running out of breathe when I'm busy running after the kids and I'm still Alive and kicking!

I would say if you stop breathing then yes you will die. But feeling like you are running out of breath, e.g when you've been running is not the same thing.

Same as liitlebluedog - but I'd change it to "if you stop breathing for a long time..."

If you keep breathing you won't run out of breaths

Everyone gets out of breath when they run or do a lot of exercise that is normal and healthy. It means that you puff for a few minutes until you get your breath back again.
When you are dead you don't breathe at all and it doesn't start again but that only happens if you are very very ill or very very old or if you have a bad accident. It isn't for you to worry about love :)

Go

Oops posted accidentally! It was meant to say

Good answer thegreylady !

By 4 I started to answer questions about death honestly. You can reassure them they're not going to run out of breath as there's plenty of it about, and hopefully they'll leave it there. No need to move on to suffocation or drowning or anything :)

No idea where she gets these questions from! Thanks for those answers. She's currently sat here telling me she can here a giant outside her bedroom! This morning she told her older brother she was a fairy, when he pointed out fairies have wings and she doesn't she said "only fairies cans see them and you are not a fairy!" No arguing with that!

Good answer t

I would also add that her body is amazing and even if something happened and she felt like she HAD ran out of breath, not to worry as her brain will still tell her body to breathe. (I had a DC with panic attacks and he got terrified he would die. When I explained that he would pass out but his brain would take over. He was so relieved and these attacks reduced