BIG TALK
What Do We Tell Children About the Wars Between the World’s Teddy Bears and Hulks?
It is challenging.
People carrying bomb-ruined lives in small luggage is a reality we can't ignore.
Our children will see it soon or have already seen it. They have questions and fears we can't look away from.
But war equals the worst dictionary words and we parents find it so difficult to explain it to them. Often it's difficult to explain it to ourselves.
So, what do we do?
In difficult times, we need to use our best judgment, carefully pick our information sources, and focus on what gives us some mental comfort and safety feeling, on what we can control.
Guiding how our children perceive the reality of war is one of the things we can control, to some extent. Here's what might help us do it better.
The war seen through a child's eyes
If you take nothing else out of this article, I want it to be the poem linked below.
Children outside the conflict area will probably hear about the war on TV, from friends, or from adults talking about it without paying attention to the little ones in the room. How do they see what they hear?
