by Tara Shafer posted in Parenting

Standing in my kitchen shredding chicken for tacos before going to the school bus, I am so anxious. I?m trying for a second, not to think about gas attacks in Syria or the general high stakes of news everywhere. Things feel so dire to me.
But this latest attack in Syria breaks me. As a human being. As a mother.
It begs once more the question: how do we raise ethical, engaged children without scaring the bejeezus out of them"

 
Driving to the bus stop, I notice the stark rainy chill of April, the cruelest month. And the pearly orange-lit unbundled clouds stretching over the different political landscapes. I try to gather myself before the kids disembark from the bus.
As parents, we can and should ask ourselves about how we approach the dual task of imparting knowledge and values on kids - while still allowing them to feel safe. As if someone is in charge. I spoke, a while back, to Laurie Fay, a social worker and an early childhood educator about helping children cope with events in the news. At that time, she offered this advice, and it seems applicable here as well:

Try to consider the perspective of your child.  Resist the impulse to read into their questions. Listen carefully to their question and figure out what they need to know. Answer only that particular question. Do not go broad, or extrapolate ? stay tightly focused on the specific question they asked.
Eliminate media and in particular, eliminate visuals. Avoid ha...