‘You Can't Have Well‐being If You're Dead…or Can You?’ Children's Realistic and Logical Approach to Discussing Life, Death and Wellbeing

• Published in: Children & society Vol. 31; no. 6; pp. 497 - 509
• Main Author: Gillett‐Swan, Jenna K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.11.2017
• Subjects: children's perspectives; children's voice; well‐being; well‐being and death
• ISSN: 0951-0605; 1099-0860
• DOI: 10.1111/chso.12221

Well‐being is a popularised and regularly considered aspect of an individual's life. Whilst frequently theorised across disciplines interested in childhood, children's perspectives on well‐being are often missing. This article presents children's views on well‐being, focussing on the extent they consider well‐being to exist after death or near‐death experiences. Through focus‐group discussion, children's conversations reflect their ability for deep philosophical, thinking and contributing to clearer understandings of well‐being across different contexts. Children's pragmatic responses about death when considering well‐being provide a valuable contribution to understanding fear of death whilst arguing for collaborative approaches between adults and children when considering complex issues.