Editing Magical thinking (section)

===Grief===
It was discovered that children 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: namely, "magical thinking".<ref>{{cite journal |last= Nielson |first= D. |year= 2012 |title= Discussing death with pediatric patients: Implications for nurses |journal= Journal of Pediatric Nursing |volume= 27 |issue= 5 |pages= e59–e64 |doi=10.1016/j.pedn.2011.11.006|pmid= 22198004 }}</ref> Make-believe and fantasy are an integral part of life at this age and are often used to explain the inexplicable.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Samide |first1= L. |last2= Stockton |first2= R. |year= 2002 |title= Letting go of grief: Bereavement groups for children in the school setting |journal= Journal for Specialists in Group Work |volume= 27 |issue= 2 |pages= 192–204 |doi=10.1177/0193392202027002006}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Webb |first= N. |year= 2010 |chapter= The child and death |editor-first= N.B. |editor-last= Webb |title= Helping Bereaved Children: A Handbook for Practitioners |pages= 5–6 |location= New York |publisher= Guildford }}</ref>

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.<ref name = Biank>{{cite journal |last1= Biank |first1= N. |last2= Werner-Lin |first2= A. |year= 2011 |title= Growing up with grief: Revisiting the death of a parent over the life course |journal= Omega |volume= 63 |issue= 3 |pages= 271–290 |doi=10.2190/om.63.3.e|pmid= 21928600 |s2cid= 37763796 }}</ref> Also at this age, there is often a lack of ability to understand that there may be other explanations for events outside of the realm of things they have already comprehended. What happens outside their understanding needs to be explained using what they already know, because of an inability to fully comprehend abstract concepts.<ref name = Biank />

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 at that point has no experience to give understanding of the ramifications of the event.<ref>{{harvnb|Webb|2010|p=51}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Schoen |first1= A. |last2= Burgoyen |first2= M. |last3= Schoen |first3= S. |year= 2004 |title= Are the developmental needs of children in America adequately addressed during the grief process? |journal= Journal of Instructional Psychology |volume= 31 |pages= 143–8 }} [[EBSCOhost]] [http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/13719052 13719052]{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}.</ref> 

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.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Schonfeld |first= D. |year= 1993 |title= Talking with children about death |journal= Journal of Pediatric Health Care |volume= 7 |issue= 6 |pages= 269–74 |doi=10.1016/s0891-5245(06)80008-8|pmid= 8106926 |doi-access= free }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Sossin |first1= K. |last2= Cohen |first2= P. |year= 2011 |title= Children's play in the wake of loss and trauma |journal= Journal of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy |volume= 10 |issue= 2–3 |pages= 255–72 |doi=10.1080/15289168.2011.600137|s2cid= 146429165 }}</ref>