although I was surprised to learn that children don't understand the concept of death until they are about 7 (I think that was the age)... slightly off topic... but interesting... anyone heard about that?

We watched a DVD on human development (it was a BBC one, I'll dig out the title later) that showed children coming across a dead animal (think it was a rabbit) and their reactions. At about four they kind of knew it was dead, but didn't understand that death was final, absolute (not trying to open up a philosophical point about after-life, but YKWIM!). They still prodded it and asked why it wouldn't get up or open it's eyes, or when would it wake up? But they did understand death to a certain extent. It's then a question of a child's individual development as to when the concept really takes hold for them. Interestingly, before this age too, when children were asked to group things according to whether they were alive or not (as in a plant, a toy, a fish, other inanimate objects) there was a certain developmental point at which they understood that the plant was living, but the teddy was not. Before this, they'd put the plant in the 'not alive' category and the teddy or doll in the 'alive' category.

Sorry, completely off topic, but it was very interesting!