What makes dying children different?

Children and adolescents experience illness and dying – their own and that of others – differently. Certain generalities include that young children focus on concerns about physical symptoms, separation from loved ones and disruption to routines. Older children and adolescents have concerns about altered body image, interruption to peer relationships, increased dependency at a time of developing autonomy, with the reality of the finality of what death means. They also worry about their family and feel guilty about what may have happened during their illness. The differences that exist seem to be influenced by whether the dying child or adolescent experienced a chronic or an acute illness that becomes fatal quickly.