Three Things to Talk to Your Kids About September 11th
In lieu of the anniversary of 9/11, I'm straying from my usual "Friday Faith-Filled Family Fun Blog" post. Still faith-filled, but no "fun" activity this week.
I'm just a regular mom, but I've had a lot of practice talking about September 11th with my kids. Why? My youngest has a September 11th birthday. Not THE September 11th, however he entered the world on a day commemorating the unthinkable.
With the 10th anniversary this weekend, all of the "experts" are talking about how to speak to your kids about this event. Somehow as I listen to this advice, I get the feeling that they don't actually speak to many kids about the subject. At least they don't speak to kids that were not directly affected. They talk about being sure that kids don't blame an entire group of people for a single act. That seems to me to be a very adult way of thinking. My kids have never thought to blame anyone besides the actual perpetrators. In general, there is a lot of advice (and fear and worry) about the whole subject of 9/11. Here are a few basic things I have talked to my kids about the events surrounding my sweet little boy's birthday, September 11th:
Good Versus Evil
Kids are very black and white. Think of fairy tales and the characters in children's literature, and you can catch a glimpse of the way kids think. Kids naturally think of people as "all good" or "all bad," so it is not much of a stretch for their little minds to think that one person could be purely evil. Evil enough to deliberately kill thousands. As a person of faith, I do believe that evil exists. Although I do not choose to dwell on it, I do acknowledge and talk with my kids about the fact that yes, there are some dark and evil things in this world.
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