How much news do you let your kids see or hear?
My big Boys’ awareness of the current affairs world probably started when Maddie went missing. Her plight struck a chord with them. Now they read First News, watch Newsround and know what happened at the general election.
In this house they don’t really get much choice though. With the Panther of News prowling the corridors of his newspaper and me generally tarting myself round several other news organisations, there are days it can be wall-to-wall current affairs chez nous.
There was a whoa-there moment a couple of years ago. At that point the Panther of News was still slinking about the wider news jungle, leaping on his prey, pinning them down and tearing them to shreds. Actually that’s probably stretching a metaphor but he was out ‘in the field’. He would come back and regale the kids with tales of his exploits. Like the time he got chased down the road, like the time he met a not-very-friendly dog, like the time he watched DVDs in the car while on stake-out.
Luckily for a range of reasons – including the children having a healthy view of news and how it’s gathered – he was promoted soon after.
I reckon talking to kids about the news and helping them see that it’s their world too is really important. And here’s my post at Ready for Ten that says why.