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Shielding Your Children from Bad News Can Destroy Them

March 23, 2020 by

“Most things are good, and they are the strongest things, but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil.” 

– Walt Disney

As parents, we want to shield our children from the horrors of the world. We would like to have them believe that the world is all rainbows and cupcakes. Many parents go way over to keep pretending that the world is as peachy as they tell their children it is.

protect kids

While we might do everything in our power to shield our children from the dark side of the world, they will eventually come face to face with it. They will be unprepared because we raised them in denial.

The older they get, the difficult it becomes to process new things. It is like realizing whatever they have believed in has all been a fairytale, a lie. They stress out trying to understand the new reality. They often don’t understand it, or if they do, it breaks their spirit.

Not the Gory Stuff

Nobody is telling you to expose your children to the really dark side of everything wrong with the world. That will ruin their little minds anyway. No, what I am saying is to not shield them from something that is very common, and they are going to have to face it in their lives at one point or another.

Things like death, kidnapping, mental health issues, relationship problems between the parents, violence, sexual harassment, etc. are usually hidden from children. We need to expose them to the basics of these things so that they know to identify the patterns if any of these things happen to them.

Balance it Out

When you introduce them to a new horror and teach them how to be safe and how to tackle the situation if need be, make sure to balance it out with something good that the world has to offer.

Children are very impressionable, and if we keep showing them the bad side of the world, they are going to grow up thinking that the world is bad. Remind your children that human nature has a lot of good in it as well. 

Talk to them about the generosity of the global community while you tell them about the dangers of cybercrimes. Use positive sides of things to balance out the negative. This is a good way to help them not lose their innocence and a positive view of the world, but still, be ready to take anything head-on.

Final Thoughts

Yes, the thought of your precious child knowing about the harsh realities makes you squirm, but it is for their own good. While talking about the positive impact of humans may not seem like a big thing, but it can be a source of great comfort when they learn about the big bad wolf.

It is our job to prepare the children for the future, for their adult life. We can’t do that by painting a picture of a world that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Show them the reality but teach them to see the silver lining in every storm.




How to Talk With and Teach Children about Issues of Safety

April 9, 2018 by

accidentsEvery parent in the world wants his or her child to be happy and safe. Most of the children do live a happy and well-loved lives but the world we live in may sometimes get scary and unsafe for them. The concern of parents even rises after watching on the news the type of crime and security issues related with children that are happening around the world. Reports like accidents, molestations, kidnapping etc. are quite common these days. This has made the safety and security of the kids, the top priority for the parents. However there are certain ways through which parents can teach their children about their safety, make them aware and reduce the risk of them becoming vulnerable to such incidents. Here are some of them that will help you out to deal with this issue.

1. Safety is more important as an aspect to be focused on rather than the danger itself. As a parent one needs to be comfortable enough to talk to the child about how to deal with unknown people and situations. A child should also feel comfortable enough to open up to the parents about any mishappenings. Parents should make sure that the child is informed about the safety measures as per the suitability of their age. Kids should know what to do when they are alone at home or when someone does any inappropriate things to them.

2. Give up the fact that only strangers can harm your children. In fact in most of the cases, the real culprit is someone known who may be a relative, caretaker or guardian of the child. As a parent it is your responsibility to make your child recognize the danger arising from people who are close to him. He should be able to realize it, whenever any inappropriate action is done against the by people close to him. Thus, they need to know that they should be able to look out for their safety in all contexts and not just the strangers.

3. Kids are rule followers and they follow their parents, guardian since the very start of their lives. Use this attribute of the child to teach them some basic safety rules but should also promote reasoning and critical thinking on their part. You do not have to simply make them follow rules, but make them realize the importance and logic behind them.