Death came up in about a quarter of play
sessions - but when it came up, it was a 
convenient way to change characters and
have something happen.
Image: iStockphoto

Pretending to be dead is a common and significant part of play for under-five-year-olds, a study has found.

Dr Brent Mawson, from The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education, studied the factors that inspire and maintain collaborative play among 3-and-4-year-olds. His study was completed over the course of a year at a privately-owned Auckland early childhood centre, where he observed group play initiated by the children without adult intervention – considered an essential part of learning for pre-schoolers.

Dr Mawson found death was a common theme, coming up in 24 percent of play episodes. But rather than kiwi children having a morbid fascination with death, Brent says it is simply a useful trigger to explore the concept and maintain play. He calls it the “hidden curriculum”, as death does not formally form part of children’s learning, but they appear to initiate games based on the subject anyway.

“Role-play involving death is usually seen as inappropriate for children, and early childhood teachers have traditionally focused on a physically and emotionally risk-free curriculum,” Mawson says. “But the death itself in play was inconsequential – it was simply a mechanism for introducing new scenarios or roles into play. There appeared to be no real interest in the concept of death by any of the children. Everyone knew it was pretend, that the dead character would wake up, the monster would be chased away, and someone else would die again tomorrow.”

Dr Mawson observed clear rules about how death is used in play. On nearly every occasion the children made clear it was only a pretend death, and the dead person or animal was always brought back to life, usually through medical intervention. Rarely do children kill each other in the play scenario. Being killed is only acceptable if agreement is reached with the other person first. A monster was commonly introduced into play to explain how a death occurred. Being dead was usually introduced by girls, and girls were more often the dead player, but it was never the main focus of play. It often provided an opportunity for boys to join in girls’ play, with boys assuming the role of the monster or the doctor. Mixed-gender play also allowed boys to take on leadership styles that were not available to them in boys-only play.

Dr Mawson says his findings demonstrate that parents and teachers should not thwart children using death in play. He says a greater understanding of how and why collaborative play emerges can help early childhood teachers to provide environments to enhance learning through play.

“It is important for adults to see play through the eyes of the child and not through the lens of adult perceptions of death,” he says.