Planes shot out of the sky, bombs exploding, scenes of war, scenes of anger, scenes of fear. All played out in our lounge rooms… in front of our kids.
When my 4 year old saw the dramatic 3D recreation of MH17 falling from the sky, he was afraid. I try as best I can to change the channel but sometimes these images slip through before I can get to the remote.
As parents, we can often struggle with this… how much do we shield our kids from the real world and how much do they need to be exposed to it? Sometimes it’s out of our hands, when these images flash across the screen in a surprise news flash during regular programming. It’s unavoidable. They will see these things.
I’ll tell you what helps my kids and maybe it will work for you, too. Whenever my kids are afraid, or unwell, or concerned about something, I ask them if I can pray. And they always say yes. I put my hands on them and just let the words come out, in my most soothing voice. Reminding them that God is taking care of them and they don’t have anything to fear. It calms them and it calms me, too. It also helps us feel like we’re doing something, when we feel like there’s nothing we can do. We pray for the families and for our soldiers and for peace. That’s what we do. #prayforpeace