When I shouldn't shield my son

I often remind my son that I am trying to teach him to be a person in the world. This is why he has chores, is responsible for making family dinners some nights, has to contribute to discussions on vacation planning and has to figure out how to entertain himself when he is "bored." But there is one area in which I still protect my son: Tragedy in the news.

I know why I do this. Part of the reason is that I want to keep him safe from the terrors of the world as long as possible, and there is also the part where I don't like dealing with my own emotions around the negative news. But, as this link reminds me: I need to teach him how to process the world's events - both the good and the bad. If I don't, he is probably getting the information elsewhere and subconsciously getting the message that I don't think he is capable of talking about life events.

The first tragic news story I remember learning about was the Challenger explosion. It was a story that so many school children were interested in (since there was going to be a teacher on the shuttle) and the devastating outcome was talked about in our homes and schools for a long time.

I am sure that was not a conversation my parents wanted to tackle, but they must have done a good job with it, because I don't recall any negative thoughts on my end.

I should keep in my that my son can handle the conversation about the events in our world, as long as I give him the opportunity to do so.

What was the first negative news story your child was exposed to? Tell me in the comments.