Common Sense Media's take on 9/11 news and your kids

On the eve of September 11th, one of the largest news events of our generation, the news media is chock full of scary images and new security alerts. Check out Common Sense Media's post today on how to help explain the news to our kids. Rather than hiding and simply turning off the screens, they recommend using the news as a springboard for discussions about your own family's beliefs and how the news media may sensationalize news stories for ratings.


Use this time to foster new online viewing rules and open communication about it all.  Reassure your kids how adults are trying to make the world safer for them. Don't overexplain... ask them questions, and encourage them to ask questions, too.  Nick News with Linda Ellerbee or Scholastic News offer age appropriate content, for example.  Click here for 9/11 news from Nick News on YouTube, and check out Scholastic's videos by their troop of 50 Kid Reporters (they have their own shiny press corps!).

Common Sense Media's terrific video and their post explains it all, including these tips for kids 8-12:

"Carefully consider your child's maturity and temperament. Many kids can handle a discussion of threatening events, but if your children tend toward the sensitive side, be sure to keep them away from the TV news; repetitive images and stories can make dangers appear greater, more prevalent, and closer to home.

At this age, many kids will see the morality of events in stark black-and-white terms and are in the process of developing their moral beliefs. You may have to explain the basics of prejudice, bias, and civil and religious strife. But be careful about making generalizations, since kids will take what you say to the bank. This is a good time to ask them what they know, since they'll probably have gotten their information from friends, and you may have to correct facts.

You might explain that even news programs compete for viewers, which sometimes affects content decisions. If you let your kids use the Internet, go online with them. Some of the pictures posted are simply grisly. Monitor where your kids are going, and set your URLs to open to non-news-based portals." (Credit to Common Sense Media)

In our opinion: YOU are your child's filter. Provide older, mature tweens with your perspectives and values, but don't be afraid to use this important historical event as a springboard for communication.

Five bananas to Common Sense Media for always telling us parents like it is... giving us the tools to be better listeners, communicators and media consumers.