Friday, February 29, 2008

Playing Dead

Why do kids do this? Moddy mentioned that her kids are doing it. Grace had a whole phase were she was always playing dead. Why? Now when she pretends, someone is always maimed or in some other way a tragic character. Do all kids do this?

She has a good life. No one beats her. She gets a lot of positive reinforcement. Why the tragedy in play-time? Is it the movies she watches? We watch some Disney, Barbie (in anything), Hiyao Miyazaki (totally awesome Japanese director of anime), and we talk about everything she watches. She hasn't even seen past Harry Potter 3.

Is it because if we pretend it then maybe it won't happen? Or facing the possibilities will prepare us for unforeseen eventualities? She loves to pretend to be the orphan or have a broken leg or some other such sad-craziness. Any ideas?

2 comments:

Dorri said...

when ever the kids play either one of them play dead, or they play house, were one is the parent one is the child and the other parent is dead. I'm not sure why kids pretend that way, maybe it's their way of trying to figure out a concept that they don't fully understand.
Though Miss Magoo is always asking me if when she gets to have a baby I'll be dead yet??? Hello!
she also keeps asking when she is going to have a baby sister, and today she said it would be okay if PJ had a baby brother too.

Maudie Jane said...

Nice Moddy, lil' bastards. I think you are right about them trying to figure out something by pretending.

My kids don't do this yet but they do pretend to fall asleep all the time with the honk shoo, honk shoo. Go figure. I think my kids do it so I will say, "Oh no Josh/Jane are asleep, Oh no". So for them it is attention.

It might also be a way for them to play at something that might be dramatic since most kids don't realize that being dead is a permanent state. They just might think it is a sad thing, maybe bad or just that the dead person gets a lot of attention.

Okay, I don't really know, I am going to shut up now. Love you all.

Can I just say this is so fun to get together like this.