Do you expose or shield your children from problems in the world? At what age do you think it is appropriate for them to learn about the horrors of slavery, abuse, extreme poverty, war, and more.
My Gracie is almost 8 and loves to watch the news. I don't know why but she does. She is also learning about the begining of slavery and while she thinks it is horrible and mean it doesn't effect her in other ways. She doesn't get scared by it or the news. I think each kid will be different.
My older daughter was 11 when we took her China with us to adopt our youngest daughter. She saw poverty like nothing we have here in the US. I run a food pantry and she loves to help me distribute food. She gets to see first hand kids who have nothing.
I think it depends on the child. My kids (7 and 5)are taught that some people are less fortunate then us and it is up to us to help those who are less fortunate. I also have taught them about war, as it was first introduced in school. I want them to know that although horrors like poverty and war exist that life is beautiful and precious and that we need to focus on all that is good. The hatred, abuse, and yuck as you put it can be left for the evil doers of the world.
This is a good question, and a hard one to answer. My kids know some generals. For instance, they know there are bad people out there who commit crimes and steal adorable children. But they don't know the details of what those crimes might involve. They know a bit about war, but again, have no idea just how brutal it truly is. Slavery.. I'm getting ready to tell my dd about this period in US History in a week or so. It will not be a horribly indepth conversation, although we will talk about how awful it is to own other people. And she will know about the white forms of slavery in this country as well. A lot of it for me is balancing- sharing the knowledge without distributing fear. Learning from it without having nightmares. I also have... odd ideas about some things, so I sprinkle that in. For instance, my kids know crimes happen, but also know sometimes desperate people do desperate things. They know I think global warming is a crock, but that it's important to keep the Earth clean. Etc Etc. I haven't said ANYTHING about 9/11. My ds was born the very next day, and to a certain extent I worry they will be linked in his mind and I don't want it to be- it isn't for dh and I even though we lived through it. There are other reasons as well... which I won't get into here.
I haven't mentioned things like rape, because he doesn't know about sex yet. Otherwise, he pretty much knows everything that goes on. I don't shield him from anything. Same with the Bible. I haven't talked about sex in the Bible, but everything else, I teach straightforward. I don't water down the stories in any way.
I also don't shield my kids from much...as my mom told me when I was young...kids my age are actually experiencing the "yuck" of the world so I could be told about it. This does not mean I go into graphic details at all, but since my DH is a cop we are probably more open than some families. My kids are 3 and almost 6.
In general, I want to be open and honest with my kids and I dont intend to hide anything from them. I want to administer knowledge without distributing fear to them. I'll probably teach my kids about Sex in a very natural way when they are young because in all honesty, I dont think that it is a very big deal. I have low tolerance for potty humor, as a child I couldn't stand to be grossed out. So I wont allow "crass" humor and discussion, but I dont have a problem with my kids learning about the "yuck" as the OP put it because all these things that are going on, are being experienced by children around the world on a daily basis. It is reality for millions of children, I dont think my kids will wither and die from just KNOWING about it. I am also a good bit paranoid so I'll be teaching my children all about how to stay safe and about Good Touch vs Bad Touch and tell mommy every little thing that cast a bit of doubt or discomfort in your poor little darling mind if anyone says or does anything to you. I'll be teaching my kids to dial 911 etc from a VERY early age. Sex, Slavery, War and various types of Crime, etc are things that my kids will learn about in honest, age appropriate ways all their young lives I hope.
I do not intentionally expose or shelter my daughter from anything listed. I explain what is going on as it comes.
nope no shielding here. Life happens whether you’re are ready for it or not. I don’t throw them in front of something that they shouldn’t see or hear but I don’t tell them to leave the room either. My kids are pretty good about stuff. If it’s something they don’t want to hear or see they will just leave the room. Or stay and ask questions.
This. Mine are 4 and 6-so they don't know what sex is yet (which is strange considering we breed goats and 6 year old loves nature documentaries-I keep waiting for it to come up....he's a 6 year old boy-he thinks they are wrestling! LOL) But I don't lie to my kids. I answer in age appropriate terms. I keep my answer short and precise-so I don't overload them with info-if they want more-they ask and I answer.
This is what I do too. I would say that I do shield in an age appropriate way. For example I would not let dd watch violent shows on tv or even see very violent situations on the news. (she is 3 btw.) Same would go with sex, drug use, or anything else like that. Dh and I don't watch shows with those themes anyway so her exposure would be limited to what someone (like a relative) would have on tv and she would witness before I could remove her from the situation. I also backed off telling her about stranger danger. She became freaked out there for awhile. Until she is a bit older, it's my responsibility to protect her from stranger danger. I just tell her now that she must stay close to me when we are out and about and that she should never go with anyone else but I don't tell her that someone might want to take her. It will be another year before I go into that again. But, I do tell her about good touch/bad touch and explain body parts. Honestly, a lot of topics come up when we do are Bible reading together. We explain things on her level in simple terms. If she asks more questions, we answer in a way that is honest without giving her nightmares (she is pretty sensitive)!
at any age if a question arises, with an appropriate close as possible to the truth answer. however, I do not expose ds9 intentionally to some topics, like drugs, alcoholism and sex, waiting for ...what? Questions? I don;t know. But still waiting, ha. Poverty - I don't take it as yuck, we are all reach in love, right? I went through severe poverty when was little, and it was o.k. until mom and dad loved me.
I have intentionally exposed my children to "yuck" in the world. They are familiar with slavery and the violence that can go along with it as well as things like extreme poverty. I've just been surprised by the many parents that have mentioned that those issues are not appropriate topics for young elementary children. Now my kids don't watch anything violent or scary or sexualized. It is rare for them to watch a movie rated PG even. They know about sex biologically, but don't know about sex deviantly. They are aware of stranger danger. Drugs and alcohol abuse have been talked about as well.
