It’s hard to know how to talk to your kids about puberty, let alone ISIS. The world is a scary place, and the current events can be hard to process even for an adult, so imagine how traumatizing these topics would be for a child or teenager. Hate crimes, terrorism, government unrest, civil wars, natural disasters, disease outbreaks and more are splattered across the morning news every day, and it’s really hard to discuss these topics with other adults, let alone with your kids. But as terrifying as it may be for everyone involved, it’s important that you do discuss what is happening in the world with your kids so that they can not only be educated about current events but also be prepared to talk about those events with others.
As much as you may want to shield your family from painful situations, you also need to talk to kids, arm them with the information they need so they can learn from the mistakes of others so that they can make smart decisions in their personal lives and can help contribute the solutions in our world. As Psychology Today reports, according to Eugene Beresin M.D., M.A., “media literacy is absolutely essential for our children.” As a parent, you need to “make sure that your children feel safe, and then talk with them frankly about recent events, and the multiple ways that the images they see can perhaps be improperly interpreted.”
Read Related: Youth Truth: 8 Ways to Think About Teen Parenting This Year
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