It seems that the world is going mad. I don't recall my parents talking to me about sensitive subjects as often as I'm talking with my kids. The only sensitive subjects I recall was the Sri Lankan civil war, the horse meat issue in France and Princess Diana dying. However, with my kids, it seems I'm talking about sensitive subjects every month. If its not terrorists attacks, political disasters, gun/knife violence, it's viruses!!!! So how do I approach sensitive subjects with my kids:
1. I gather all the facts - I always make it a conscious effort to know everything about the incident instead of throwing false information at them. It's easy to be biased but with kids, we need to be careful. I don't want to influence my kids with my opinions.
2. Knowing how much information to give- From the incident, what will directly affect kids? How much do they need to know? I just give them what they actually need to know and not too much detail.
3. Being patient - When you say something sensitive, kids have lots of questions Some may be silly and some very intelligent. Don't laugh at any questions and give them honest answers to all their questions bearing in mind the amount of details you need to disclose to kids. They are going to hear different versions and new information from different sources and you need to be patient and consistent with your kids.
4. Being proactive - Laksha gets anxious very quickly. I know that even if I answered her questions, underneath she's still bubbling a little. So I do share plans with them if I can make one. So with he manic panic that the coronavirus is causing, I told the kids how we are going to deal with it as a family and are more relaxed about it.
Keeping an open conversation with kids in these mad times, it's essential. I want my kid to know the true situation but also know when not to panic. Trying to raise intelligent and sensible kids in a dumb world is so difficult!
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