After the horrific events in Manchester last night, I saw a
post from Sky about helping children
understand terrorism. It got me thinking. Should we tell our children about
terrorism? Is this something that we should discuss in the house?
There are more and more terrorist attacks happening. But we
can’t stop living our lives in fear that there will be another attack. Does
that mean we should shield our children from it for as long as possible?
I don’t think so. While I won’t talk to my children right
now about the current attacks, I will do in the future. Right now, Monkey and Peanut
are 4 and 1 years old respectively. The youngest clearly isn’t old enough to
understand. The eldest…well, I want her to have some sort of normal childhood. Plus
there is no risk of her seeing anything in our house. We don’t have the news on
the TV, getting it through our phones and the radio.
As both get older, we certainly will explain terrorism to
them. We’ll do it in a way that suits their ages, letting them know that there
is no need to be afraid. Why no need to be afraid? Because this is what the
terrorists want. Whatever they believe and whatever reason they do it, they
want people to stop living out their lives normally. I don’t want my children
to feel they can’t go to a concert.
And this comes from someone who realized last night’s attack
happened almost a year to the day that I was at Manchester Arena with my
sister. This one was closer to home, but it would never stop me from going to
these events.
What I will do is:
- Explain why it’s happened
- Share who has done it
- Explain where the location is
- Share why it’s okay to be scared and horrified, but why we shouldn’t stop our daily lives
- Show some of the good stuff that happens in the news (it may not seem it but there are good things)
There’s no point completely hiding these terrorist acts from
our children. That tells our children that this is scary and upsetting. It
shows our children that we’re worried, even if we’re really just trying to
preserve some of their innocence. But I will only show them what they need. I
will filter out some of the most horrific photos and videos taken in an attempt
to preserve some innocence and avoid too much fear.
But there isn’t a right or wrong answer when it comes to
telling children about terrorism. For some parents, being open is the right
option. There are some children who will fair better without knowing anything
at all.
Will you explain terrorism to your children? Do you want to
preserve their innocence?
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