Moms Talk Q&A: Talking To Kids About Osama Bin Laden

Each week in local parents help each other by sharing opinions, advice and solutions.

This week our Moms Council is discussing the death of Osama bin Laden. Join the conversation by adding your comments below.

Question: How are you discussing the death of Osama bin Laden with your kids? Do you talk to them about September 11th? Do you let them watch the news?

: My children were 3 and 5 years old when 9/11 happened. We did discuss it at the time as they were wondering what was happening. My daughter had just started kindergarten and a lot of parents went to school that day to pick up their children. They saw small snippets of news, just enough to let them see what had happened - New York was then and still is one of our favorite cities to visit. Over the years the subject of 9/11 has come up in relation to news events and we have always tried to answer their questions with facts. Today they are 13 and 15 years old and yes we will discuss the death of Osama bin Laden - they heard about it on the radio this morning (we don't have the TV on in the mornings at all) and I'm sure it will come up in our conversation at dinner this evening. We'll discuss the facts, the reasons behind the attack and possible consequences. 

Do we let our children watch the news? We don't watch that much TV in our home, we don't normally turn it on until 8:30 - 9 p.m. The news we do get is either from NPR in the mornings, the Washington Post which we have delivered daily and weekends and the Internet - I really like the BBC news online as it gives a very good update on world affairs and not just all things American. Both my children will skim the front page of the Washington Post when they get home from school. Overall we are not big fans of local news shows on TV.

: It seems like this is only a subject for the older kids - if at all. I have no interest in celebrating or making a big deal to my young children about something like this. I feel that they don't understand the backstory, no matter how well you try to explain it. The only part of it that they will see is the ugly vengeance part of it, like it's part of a video game where the bad gets it in the end and then everything is fine after that. The last thing I want my kids to think is that I'm excited or happy that any REAL person is dead. That would be sending the opposite message of kindness and love that I try to impart to my kids. 

My 7th and 5th graders heard the news and us talking about it yesterday and asked about it. I made sure they understood who Bin Laden was and what he started. I also listened to them to really get to what parts of this they truly understood. I have mixed feelings about it myself, so all I can do is present the facts to them and help them see that it is much more complicated than the TV news makes it out to be.

: We do not watch the news with the kids. However, yesterday was an exception. Our youngest has no concept of the events. With our older two (6 and 9) I wanted to explain to them in simple terms what had happened. September 11th is something that is still talked about and I think it is okay for my kids to have context for the event that occurred. The death of Osama bin Laden is another piece. Having said that, I won't show them the photos. I am prepared to discuss the pictures it if the kids see them and I will let them watch news reports with me (that I have already viewed).

: As this subject is so complex and my feelings are so mixed, it is difficult to answer the question without straying. However, I will say that my kids (ages 6 and almost 8) do know about the events of September 11th (we visited Ground Zero a couple years ago). They know that some really bad people who don’t like America drove some planes into the World Trade Center and many Americans were killed. It was a very sad day that changed America.

When the news came on Monday morning (we normally have the Today Show on every morning at breakfast), I explained to them that America’s biggest enemy (the mastermind of 9/11) was killed by our soldiers and our world should be a much safer place as a result of the bravery of our military. The simplified story is almost super hero-like and they rejoiced along with the crowds shown on TV chanting “USA, USA!". Patriotism abounds in our house. I think they’re too young to engage in much more dialogue than that and luckily they haven’t asked...why it’s ok to KILL in this case, what about all his followers, is America really safer now, etc. etc. Another day…