Hard to believe it's already been 10 years
The day that I was running my mouth off with my mom in the car, while my 5-year-old was, apparently, intently listening to NPR and exclaimed “CHOPPING OFF HEADS?!?! No one does that!”….is the day I realized that my children are always listening. Even when they are ignoring me. So for my current post on the fabulous DC Moms web site, I wrote about how to talk to kids about bad news, I researched when they are old enough to really understand certain concepts and what is an age-appropriate subject. I also found a new American Psychological Association report out about how to talk to young children specifically about 9/11. Coincidentally, over the last few days women are sparring on a local listserv where I live about whether 7 and 8-year-olds should be taught about 9/11 if they haven’t asked, and if the new display at the Newseum is appropriate for them. I’m not going to take a side on whether you should proactively tell a 7-year-old about 9/11 but I did the legwork to find out what the experts suggest you do. Enjoy the post, and please comment if you feel compelled.
This is perfect! My husband and I literally had this conversation last night – about whether we would proactively talk with our 7 year old about 9-11. We decided we should but we didn’t know how to tackle it! Thanks!