Pigtails, Fairytales and Not-So Happy Endings: Talking to Your Kids About Terrorism

The recent attacks on Paris remind us once again of how vulnerable we all are to the evils of this world. As a parent, happenings like these make us wonder if, when and how we should be tackling these issues with our children.

 13^th November 2015 – an ordinary day marked forever in our minds and calendars as a day when humanity was threatened, once again. These increasingly common incidents have slowly crept into our societal DNA like a deadly cancer. Terrorism is a multi pronged socio-economic epidemic that we have failed to keep contained or arrest. We may not have started the fire, but we face the flames anyway. The world has always had its share of negative forces, but with every passing generation the dangers and threats feel ever more present and real.

Another day in another November, my home city Bombay was mercilessly attacked by a spineless bunch of men who succeeded in terrorizing and breaking the heart of our vibrant city. Several innocent lives were lost with the aftershocks of the attacks jolting us for a long time to come. Anyone associated with the city felt a loss. This coming Thursday will actually be the 7^th anniversary of this ghastly day. Life gives us no choice but to move on and as time passes, our emotions associated with the memory tone down. All is well till another such incident takes place pointing the gun directly at very the freedom we live for. We may be lucky enough to not be present at that café or stadium or hotel or on that plane, but these attacks are on all of us. These are the very times that force us to question our basic faith and beliefs.

Being a parent is hard work. Beyond the daily chores and choices we are entrusted with a more important job – that of growing and molding little individuals. Our children will not be children forever, and sooner or later they will get acquainted with the problems of the real world. As the world around us constantly changes our children’s evolving minds are constantly bombarded with new and overwhelming concepts. A large part of parenting involves passing on to our children a strong belief system that can be relied and reflected upon all through their lives. Often we are faced with tough questions and unfortunately not all questions have definite answers. One big question is why do bad things happen to good people?

The prime motive behind these attacks is one alone – to spread a fear and terror in our minds that is impossible to ignore. Fear, much like love is a universal emotion. It is impossible for a rational mind not to feel fear, but overcoming fear is the big win and ironically, the only way to overcome fear is by not being afraid. As much as these incidents shake up our core ideals and beliefs, it is when in doubt that we need faith the most.

Our children need to feel secure no matter what. Always invite honest and open discussions with your children. If your children are at an age where they are aware of the senseless atrocities that took place last week or ever, it is likely that their minds will wander toward a terrain that may have thus far remained off limits. This may be tricky. Research says that children up to the age of 6 view the world quite literally. It is difficult enough to explain the concept of mortality to a child, let alone the taking of life by another for no good reason. Explaining the truth may not always be simple, but be direct and remember that children have a unique way of adapting reality to suit their levels of understanding. We as parents must make our children aware and at the same time not let them lose their ability to trust. We must teach them to believe in niceness even when life isn’t all that fair. In the end if that is the one thing we can pass on, it’ll be enough.

To beautifully sum it up in the words of Angel Le –“They might have guns, but we have flowers.”