I was just gonna give the kids a shot of NyQuil and keep them groggy all day.

Tell the kids how the terrorists hate our freedoms.

Or sit down with them and discuss it intelligently and compassionately, rather than relying on TV to once again parent for you. If you think TV is a better judge than you are of what level of depth is appropriate for your child, you have failed as a parent.

Nickeloden CAUSED 9/11

Reads a lot like the Bush administration's strategy of dealing with the American public.

How about not watching T.V. for a day? Or is that too much to ask?

There are simple ways that you can answer older children -- that the terrorists don't like our way of life and don't think women should have the same rights as men, but that they are extremists and a small minority group.

Interesting that womens' rights are part of a very "simple" answer. I wonder what gender the writer is.

Nancy McVicar

Ah, ok.

"Tell them how much has been done since 9/11 to make air travel safer."

Ah, I see the Santa Claus method is being used here as well.

Q. With older kids, should you wait until they ask questions or bring it up with them?

A. Kids will come to their own conclusions if we don't help them.

holy farking shiat, kids making up their own minds? we can't let the terrorists win. we MUST teach the one and only truth.

/preferably no more than one paragraph

Lincoln: How about not watching T.V. for a day? Or is that too much to ask?

QFT to the max. Maybe taking them out to a park or the beach or set up the Slip 'N Slide for one last run. Something OTHER than a TV.

How about not taking advice and doing what you believe you should or should not say about it? after all, it is YOUR children...

Nice sidebar:

Ralph De La Cruz
Lifestyle Columnist

Heart & Soul: In a gay teen's life, choosing when and how to come out is a big step.

Screw Nickeldeon...

That SHIAT ain't been good in years....

IT ALL ABOUT CARTOON NETWORK...

Codename Kids Next Door
My Gym Partner Is A Monkey
Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy
Squirrel Boy
Ed, Edd, Eddy
Camp Lazlo

[adult swim]

Word'.

Tell them it happened because they were bad and didn't clean up their room.

I'm 21 years old, and I spend the entire week watching COPS and Cartoon Network, while surfing FARK, and playing on my PS2 and PSP...

I love College....

They should be safe if they're wearing those armor pajamas, shouldn't they?

Turn off the TV and do something outside?

Q. My TV is broken, and now I'm not sure where to go to be told what to think.

A. Don't worry! First check the fusebox, it might just be a blown fuse and you can just fix it. If it is the TV then try and contact a neighbour or friend to see if they'll let you watch their TV. Be careful though, if you know someone who watches non fiction or "educational" TV then they may be able to think for themselves. THIS IS WHAT THE TERRORISTS WANT!"

pop in a video game, let them spend the day playing grand theft auto.

Q. What should you say if they ask why it happened?

A. There may be tough questions, like: Why don't they like us? Why did we go to war? There are simple ways that you can answer older children -- that the terrorists don't like our way of life and don't think women should have the same rights as men, but that they are extremists and a small minority group.

So basically tell them lies?

"Bin Laden said al-Qaida decided, in his words, to destroy New Yorks' World Trade towers in 2001 and listed several factors that motivated the attack, including frustration over what he called America's pro-Israeli Middle East policies. He said Israel's bombing attacks on Beirut in 1982 gave him the idea of targeting New York's skyscrapers."
ref: www.globalsecurity.org

If they ask questions, hit them. If they keep asking staple their ears. If they still won't shut up just get drunk until you pass out sleep until 9/12 no more questions.

\kidding

I can understand shielding children under 6 from events like this, because at that age i dont think i could have fully understood the situation. This lack of understanding could lead to a fear of flying, which might make holidays a little complicated!

Still, it seems hard to decide upon a boundary age at which children should be taught about such matters; the age of 6 i just plucked out of a hat, there is no real reasoning behind it. Seven could be just as good. I believe above 6, and definately by 10, children should be presented with the FACTS, or the ability to find those facts themselves. I find the line 'Kids will come to their own conclusions if we don't help them' very disturbing. Surely kids coming to their own conclusions is a GOOD thing?

On a deeper note, I wonder how many people here, or in the rest of the world really understand the motives and reasons behind those terrorists?

2006-08-27 04:47:42 PM Palmer Eldritch


Or sit down with them and discuss it intelligently and compassionately, rather than relying on TV to once again parent for you. If you think TV is a better judge than you are of what level of depth is appropriate for your child, you have failed as a parent.

good post... completely true.. and my son isnt old enough to understand yet, he was born two years after, but the next time something like this happens(the reair, not the tragedy, but even then) i will tell my son exactly what is going on(obviously in a toned down way) and explain to him the events and such... if you think this is not something for children, then lets just do away with history all together...

/sometimes i wish the parents would grow up

Tell them the truth: that Bush & Co. did it.

/ducks and runs

oh and fwiw, my kid watches old peewee herman reruns recorded from adult swim...

he loves em and its a really great educational show... more so than you think... and no its not the comedy from hbo...lol

Lincoln: How about not watching T.V. for a day? Or is that too much to ask?

Indeed, parents would do well to read aloud ponderous essays on September 11th in Harper's to their children to commemorate the anniversary.

The Farking II The New Horror: Screw Nickeldeon...

The cartoons are okay. Spongebob and The Fairly Oddparents are actually pretty good, and Jimmy Neutron isn't half bad.

If a child expresses fear about another terrorist attack, say everyone's worried

Speak for yourself, bed-wetter.

skinink: that picture belongs in the "draw a blank" photoshop

Since when was handling young children part of the 9/11 anniversary observances?

/Hey, when in Rome

I'm going to be at work that day, but afterwards I'm going to be watching Nickelodeon. The media orgy that's likely going to take place will be too much for me to deal with.

/Was in Midtown when it happened
//Nearly lost family
///Co-Worker lost a close friend
////Don't need 24 hours of coverage, thanks

I am unable to form an opinion. I don't have a TV in my house.

The events of Sept. 11 are extremely difficult for a child to understand. What should you tell your child when he or she asks why this happened? Obviously, there's no easy answer, but the following is a start:

* Sit your child down, and gently explain to him or her that the destruction of the Twin Towers was part of a Holy War, or jihad, against the U.S. perpetrated by a small faction of Islamic fundamentalists bent on the annihilation of Western society.
* As your child may or may not know, much of modern Islamic fundamentalism has its roots in the writings of Sayyid Qutb, whose two-year sojourn to the U.S. in the late 1940s convinced him that Western society and non-Islamic ideologies were flawed and corrupt. Over the course of the next several decades, his writings became increasingly popular throughout the Arab world, including Afghanistan.
* Patiently explain to your child that in 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, outraging the U.S. Determined to stem the tide of communism, the U.S. provided Afghanistan with military support in the form of weapons and training. Among the beneficiaries of this support were many of Qutb's radical-fundamentalist adherents. These fundamentalists eventually took over Afghanistan in the form of a group called the Taliban. Militarized and radicalized by years of war, Taliban leaders turned against the U.S., which long supported them in their fight against the occupying Soviets but eventually came to be seen as the embodiment of Western immorality.
* You should also let your child know that among those supported by the Taliban is Osama bin Laden, a Saudi multi-millionaire and terrorist who for years has taken refuge in encampments in the rugged hills of Afghanistan. Like his Taliban brethren, bin Laden believes that the U.S. is guilty of apostasy and should be punished accordingly.
* Your child will likely ask why bin Laden is so angry at the U.S. Explain to him or her that much of his anger is rooted in the fact that, during the Gulf War, the U.S. stationed troops in Saudi Arabia, the nation that is home to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Bin Laden was further angered by America's post-Gulf War efforts to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein by imposing an embargo against his nation.

No doubt, your child will have more questions. He or she will likely want to know what role other terrorist groups played in the attack, as well as what destabilizing effects a U.S. invasion of Afghanistan could have on the increasingly volatile political climate in Pakistan. Hopefully, though, the above will serve as a start, helping your child better understand why the bad men did this terrible thing.

/theonion

I'm just glad the we caught Osama and made him pay for his crimes.

/heckuva jorb, Bushie

I was just going to show them "Schindler's List"; nothing like a nice calm film to quiet the kids down.

null/void - seeing as there is absolutely no evidence to suggest they did it "because they hate [your] freedoms", people would have to be pretty naive to believe it. I'm sure most rational folks out there have realised that it's not as clear-cut as that. Surely, if that was true, why hasn't most of western Europe and Canada been blown off the face of the earth, instead of just attacks in the countries that were either in or meddling with other countries in the middle east at the time of the attacks. The US is not the only country with democracy and (somewhat) universal suffrage - the "freedoms" excuse just doesn't stand up to any scrutiny at all.

Put on this (pops).

No point in kids growing up to be as dumb as their parents.

This article is a fine example of a corporate sponsored media whore question and answer session.

Q. Why do terrorists hate us?

A. Well Bobby, it's because they hate our freedom.

Q. What should I do?

A. Turn on Nickelodeon.

Lumber Jack Off

Ho...ly... shiat...

How will you celebrate the 5th year anniversary of extremists hijacking our government?

By the time I have kids old enough to give a crap it will be 15+ years after the fact.

It's kind of weird to think that when my kids do see those images they will have pretty much no concept of what I or my husband feel when we see them.

"There may be tough questions, like...Why did we go to war?"

Little known fact:

Small children don't track anniversaries, and mostly weren't old enough to form long term memories in the year 2001!

How about telling them to stop asking questions, and to stare blankly off into the void while they let their government do whatever it wants in the name of security. And if they start to complain or dissent, lock them up in the "secret prison" (a.k.a. broom closet). It's a game the whole family can play.

Play Some Tunes

fred_chan: It's kind of weird to think that when my kids do see those images they will have pretty much no concept of what I or my husband feel when we see them.

We're kind of the same way with Pearl Harbour. Back then, it was a life altering event. Today, it's question #4 on your history test. The important thing is we never forget.

when was the last time the footage of the planes hitting the WTC was even shown on tv? has it been years? i would bet that the footage will not be shown again on (american) tv for a while

/but correct me if i'm wrong