How to Talk with Your Kids About the Events Unfolding Across American Right Now
Every parent has gone through the "Why?" phase at some point in time with their kids. Why is sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why do you have to go to work everyday? Most of those questions have relatively easier answers. Some may require Google's help. But, we've all had those questions we don't know the answers to, because we ourselves don't understand what's happening.
The recent protests, and in some cases, rioting, that are taking place in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis can be difficult for adults to understand and process which makes makes explaining it to your children even more difficult if or when they ask questions about the things they see on TV or online.
How you approach it depends on your child's age. A four to six year old will likely have different questions than a seven to ten year old, who will likely have different questions than a 10 to 13 year old. And what about kids in their mid-to-late teens who may be more socially conscious then you were at their age thanks to social media and the internet? They may be forming their own opinions of what they're seeing. What if their opinion is different than yours? What do you say to them?
I don't know the answer to any of those questions. Fortunately, I know someone who can help navigate them and offer advice on how to have the discussion.
Dr. James Schroeder is the Vice President of Psychology and Wellness at the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center in Evansville. He's been joining us every Tuesday at 8:40 for the past several weeks to help navigate and understand the feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression that many began to feel as the COVID-19 pandemic made its way into the Tri-State. This week, we shifted the focus to the news of the last several days, discussing the psychology behind a group of people deciding to smash windows and set fires, to how you can have an open discussion with kids of all ages about why it's happening.
Check out our full interview with Dr. Schroeder below.