Is There a "Right Time" to Teach Our Children About the Bad Happenings in the Real World?

Ah, the end of another day. And today was a very trying day. KBug was just off kilter from the moment she woke up this morning and it kind of went downhill from there. But we've survived, and I'm feeling accomplished. The sink is (mostly) empty, the laundry is (almost) done, KBug is (hopefully) sleeping and I am drinking a (full) glass of wine. It's a good night.

But anyways.

 

Mr. Boston is (kind of obviously) originally from Boston. And being from that area he is a huge New England Patriots fan. And if you haven't been paying attention to the news, there is a huge story about one of their players.

 

Being the dedicated fan that he is, he has been following the story continuously since it broke a couple of days ago. And I really don't have a problem with it, if we're being honest. I'm a football fan, too. The Patriots aren't my team, but I understand that they are his. Has it led to some teasing and picking on each other for our opposing choices in teams? Sure, but it's all in good fun.

 

What's bothering me, though, is that it was on the news while we were out enjoying dinner this evening. And that Mr. Boston and PJP were practically glued to the story and conversing about it. This, of course, prompted KBug to turn around and start reading the closed captioning on the screen and pay attention.

 

Now, if the player in question had just gotten a DUI or something, I wouldn't have a problem with this really. KBug knows that there's a difference between drinking a glass of wine and drinking a glass of milk. She understands that it does something funny to your body and that's why Mommy doesn't drive after she has a glass of wine. I've talked about it with her because she needs to grow up understanding why she shouldn't drink until she's old enough. I think it's important.

 

But this particular player has been charged with murder. And, to my own horror, my daughter knew what murder was. It saddened me greatly that KBug knew what it was and wanted to hold a conversation about this individual.

 

She was clear that killing someone was the wrong thing to do, and she was clear that this person should go to jail. But she was also worried and wanted to make sure that this individual went to a prison where they would take care of him. She told us she didn't want him to have to eat worms and only get one slice of bread a day. I'm not sure where she heard that, but her compassion towards a person she didn't even know was amazing. Especially since that person is accused of doing something so terrible.

 

I'm worried, though. I don't want to shelter KBug so that she's completely unprepared for the real world when she's old enough to join it. But I feel like she's too young to have knowledge of these things at this point. She's only seven years old. She's an innocent and has always viewed the world in a positive light.

 

I want her to retain that positivity and happy view of the world. I don't want her to lose that outlook on the world and on life because it will only benefit her in the long run. I want her to grow up happy and carefree, knowing she is safe and loved and cared for.

 

But I know at some point we will have to sit down and really discuss the bad people in the world.

 

She knows she shouldn't talk to strangers. She knows that there are people out there who might want to steal her away. But murder? That's a step too far, in my opinion.

 

I will say that Mr. Boston and PJP were very good to discontinue their conversation when I asked them not to discuss it in front of KBug. I'm pleased that they understood it wasn't an appropriate topic.

 

But it saddens me that it was a topic at all. And it saddens me that my daughter is going to grow up in a world where people hurt others continuously.

 

This is no world for a child to grow up in. It's no place for a child to know.

 

But, unfortunately, it is the world we live in.

 

And it's the only one we have.