What are stock market crashes?

A stock market crash is when people suddenly lose confidence and sell lots of shares all at once, making prices drop really fast.

Imagine you and your friends are playing a game where you trade toys. You think the toy is super cool and valuable, so you buy it from someone else. But then, everyone starts getting worried that the toy isn't as awesome after all, maybe it breaks easily or another kid has a better one. So they all try to sell their toys quickly, and the value of the toy plummets in no time.

Sometimes, there’s a big event like a company going bankrupt or a bad news story that makes people think everything might fall apart, just like when you hear your favorite superhero has been defeated by a new villain!

It's kind of like when you're really excited about getting ice cream, but then the shop runs out and you have to settle for plain yogurt. Everyone around you feels disappointed, and that disappointment spreads quickly.

So, a stock market crash is just a big, fast version of people losing confidence in something valuable, like toys or shares in companies.