Talking to Kids About 9/11

From the moment my children were born I have wanted to protect them from the evils of this world. So how and when do you tell them about 9/11?

My children are 8 and 10 now, in the 3rd and 4th grades, and until now they had no knowledge of the events of September 11th.

A couple months ago I asked my son if he had ever heard about 9/11 because I want my children to hear about these things from me instead of their teachers or kids on the school ground. My son told me he had no idea what happened on 9/11. I told him very briefly that it was one of the saddest days in American History, that planes hit some large buildings in New York, and lots of people died. He didn't seem too phased by it, and I told him we would talk more when September 11th rolled around.

Leading up to today I told myself that it was time to at least give them some basic facts about that horrible day. Part of me still wants to keep them as innocent as possible, but I strongly believe it's important that they know evil in order to recognize the good in the world.

This morning my daughter and I visited Ten Mile Christian Church in Meridian and we had the opportunity to hear from David Beamer, the father of Todd Beamer, who helped overpower the hijackers on United Flight 93.

Going into the service I wanted her to know about what this man's son had done. It was a great opportunity to talk to her about the positives that came out of that day. We talked about how this man helped save many other lives because he stood up to the "bad guys" and crashed the plane into a field instead of our nations capitol building.

We talked about the planes crashing, the people who died, and the children who lost parents, but even more than that we talked about people who helped other people get out of the towers, people who cleaned up the mess for months after, and the brave firefighters and police officers who risked and sacrificed their lives for others on that terribly sad day.

Focusing on the heroes and how our country is striving to be safer since 9/11 has been key for me in talking to my kids about September 11th, without leaving them in the dark about this day in history.

If you feel it's time to talk to your kids about September 11th these are a few things I would personally suggest from my experience with my kiddos.

• Keep the facts basic (They don't need to hear the nitty gritty gruesome details.)
• Focus on the heroism that happened that day
• Avoid graphic pictures unless your child is at least 12-14
• Tell them how our country is safer since that day. (Tighter security etc.)
• Realize that since your young children weren't alive on 9/11 they aren't impacted by it like you probably are. To them it's another tragic event in the history books like WWII or Pearl Harbor.

May we never forget that day, the people who lost their lives, and the stories of heroes that came out of the ashes.