I try to monitor what my kids watch on TV. I make sure the shows have a good mix of fun and information. So it would make sense that we would want to include the local, national and world news in that mix. After all, knowledge is key to raising socially responsible and involved citizens, right? So how do you explain the news to a 7 year old when it starts off with the war with the happy story about release of hostages after years of imprisonment. These are truths that I don't want to expose her delicate psyche to yet. Still, that is what is in the news these days.
So I have stopped watching the evening news on the television in our home. We get our news online where I can control what the kids hear -- I read it to them or have them read specific stories. I go to sites like HappyNews.com which tries to deliver the positive side of the news. Its focus may not tell you what is happening in the Iraqi War but it will tell you the human side the world with a more local news feel to it. If the world was filled with all the bad, negative things we hear on the usual evening news then I would be hesitant to set foot out of my front door. So how could our children ever feel secure or safe? Am I too protective of them? Am I taking the easy way out? Or is it alright at such a young age?
I hope I am still enabling them to grow to be involved and active citizens of our great country. I'm not sure (are we ever as parents?) but I am doing what I think is right by them.
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