Death Experiences Of Children

NDEs are described as occurring to infants and young children who have a different concept of death and have not yet experienced ego differentiation. Pediatric nephrologists from Massachusetts General present two childhood NDEs. One suffered a cardiac arrest from renal failure at 8 months of age and began to articulate her NDE at age 3. The experience involved going into a tunnel and seeing a bright light.93 Although a precise understanding of the developmental aspects of death anxiety does not exist, most authorities agree that the child under age 2 has no concept of death and that from 2 to 5 years of age, there is a limited understanding that death is perhaps the temporary cessation of activity. The anxiety that children have at this age is comparable to separation anxiety and does not come from some deep-seated fear of death.94
Gabbard and Twemlow also present two cases of childhood NDEs. Todd was age 2 years 5 months when he bit into an electric cord from a vacuum cleaner. Medical records document that he was in ventricular asystole with no spontaneous respirations for approximately 25 minutes. After his resuscitation, he slowly recovered cortical and neurologic functions over the next 4 to 6 months. At age 33 months, he was playing in the living room when his mother asked him about biting into the cord. He stated: "I went into a room with a very nice man and sat with him. (The room) had a big bright light in the ceiling. The man asked if I wanted to stay or come back with you." He then looked up at his mother and stated: "I wanted to be back with you and come home." He then smiled and went back to playing with his toys. This occurred in 1972, before the publication of Moody's book.
Mike was age 4 when he nearly drowned in a community swimming pool. He fell in the pool and was unable to swim and sank to the bottom. His mother rescued him and he did not require resuscitation. After being pulled out of the pool, he stated that he saw pretty lights on the end of a long bridge. He talked of golden lights and said that he learned how to swim. He had recently been to Disneyland and described the bridge as being similar to Cinderella's Castle. He wanted to return to the pool, stating that there was an old-time cabin down at the bottom of the pool with a cranky old man in the middle of the golden lights.
The psychoanalysts present a third case of a 29-year-old woman who was watching Elizabeth Kübler Ross on television describing the tunnel experience associated with NDEs. She suddenly remembered with vivid clarity that such a thing had happened to her when she was near death from a complicated case of the mumps. The experience was intensely vivid and similar to prior reports of NDEs, including drifting out of her bed, watching her mother place a cloth on her forehead, entering into the blackness of a dark tunnel, and traveling toward an intense bright light. A bearded man in a white robe appeared. She met others in heaven and finally returned to her body.25
Other pediatric cases are reported by William Serdahely95 at the University of Montana. He surveyed pediatricians throughout Montana and surrounding states and asked if they had encountered pediatric NDEs in their practices. He collected four experiences. Pat was interviewed at age 9 concerning his near drowning at age 7. Medical records documented that he lost spontaneous heartbeat and respirations, and cardiac resuscitation was required after he fell off a bridge into the water while fishing. He stated he floated out of his body and "was up in the clouds. I was a little bit scared. I looked down and saw my body on a stretcher and Jim Perkins (a medic) with his head in his hands. Then I went into this tunnel. I wanted to go, but Abbie and Andy licked me and nagged me to go back." Abbie and Andy were his former dog and cat who had died. He further stated that time did not exist while in the tunnel. An amateur photographer present at the scene of the rescue photographed a picture of the medic, Jim Perkins, sitting with his head in his hands. Reportedly, Pat had not seen or heard of the picture before his description of his NDE.
A 10-year-old girl had a full cardiopulmonary arrest while in the intensive care unit after spinal surgery. She described her experience 2 years later. Stating she was "peaceful and relaxed, and remembered seeing a whitest blue light at the end of the tunnel. She saw the shadow of a dog, and also a white lamb that was loving and gentle, which led her back to her body." Her parents reported at age 2, she had a lamb that doubled as a music box that was her favorite stuffed animal.
Natalie was 17 when she suffered a respiratory arrest and seizures as the result of status asthmaticus. She found herself suddenly in a tunnel, "thinking logically that I was in a tunnel while I was having an asthma attack. Suddenly two light figures (her words) came to her. They were friendly, and took her hands and together they floated towards the light. As she was traveling, images came to her, of her father swinging her and she saw how sad her mother would be if she died. The beings set her down and she walked out of the tunnel and back to her body."
Mike, at age 4, fell from a high dive and landed on his head. His mother found him and believed him to be dead. He stated he was floating out of his body and was then in a fog. A shaft of yellow light, like the sun, penetrated the fog and surrounded him. At first the OBE was scary, but then he said he was with friends. He heard a warm comforting male voice asking him if he wanted to live or die, and he thought his mother would miss him, so he wanted to live and returned to consciousness

In the Bible Jesus said that "children make up the Kingdom of Heaven" and when he was asked who was the greatest in Heaven, Jesus took a small child and put the child as the center of attention as He said "you must become as one of these"...