A 5-year-old girl tells everyone she meets about the recent death of her family's dog. Then she says, "One day, I am going to die, and so will you." Which of the following statements is correct?

Choice A reason: While young children’s understanding of death evolves, curiosity and verbalization about death is a normal developmental stage around age 5. Immediate psychiatric evaluation is not indicated unless accompanied by distress, dysfunction, or unusual behaviors. Choice B reason: Discussing personal feelings in children is a healthy way to process grief. Intervening solely because a child talks about death is unnecessary if she is otherwise functioning normally. Choice C reason: Normal developmental understanding of death includes curiosity and sometimes existential statements. The child’s expression reflects natural processing of loss and awareness of mortality, requiring observation rather than intervention. Choice D reason: The child does not display obsessive preoccupation or functional impairment. Normal grief and cognitive development explain the behavior without pathologizing it.