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4 1/2 yr old grandson

The teacher's aid at my grandsons preschool said that he told her he was going to kill himself.  He shows signs of being developmentally delayed in speech.  We find it hard to believe that he could physically express himself in that manner and are wondering if a child of this age could comprehend the concept of death let alone kill himself.  I can't find any statistics on child suicide at this age.  My grandson tends to be creative and has a great imagination.  I believe that he is probably above average in intelligence.  I took him to school one day after this and he told me about a tree that used to be in an empty field being cleared for a housing development.  He told me they cut down the tree.  he said the tree had and x on it and they 'killed' the x with an axe.  This tells me he may have some confusion on the meaning of the word kill.  Any thoughts are appreciated.
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Avatar universal
My grandson is 4 and 1/2.  How much of a difference would that make?
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242606 tn?1243782648
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
No, a three-year-old cannot comprehend the meaning of killing oneself.  It will be imprtant for someone to chat with him about his comment and beforehand to learn as much as possible about the circumstances that gave rise to the remark. The context in which the comment occurred is important in understanding what he might have been getting at.
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