s/o: do your kids know about 9-11 and or what are you planning to tell them?

[AnnieW625]

As far as I know DD1 knows nothing on 9-11 and I have no plans to tell her at this time. I am also planning that on 9-11 we will go to Disneyland for the entire day mainly so I can avoid having to watch all of the tributes or news shows on TV and having to explain to them what happened. I am sure that she will learn something at school, but honestly at this time I am not ready to tell her about it.

[arivecchi]

I do not plan on telling DS1 just yet. I do have the NYTimes from the day after the attacks and I plan on giving that to him when he is old enough to understand.

The pictures of people jumping from the towers will hunt me forever, so he will definitely have to be much older before he sees it.

[rlu]

We are planning to tell DS about it this year. We'll use the simplist terms and see what type of questions he has. I think he's too old at this point not to know.

[o_mom]

Yes. We have a book on skyscrapers that was pre-2001 and it has the WTC in it. When reading it, we have told them that those buildings are no longer there because bad people flew airplanes into them. I think DS1 had something in school about it last year (1st grade) as well.

[maestramommy]

My kids do not know. They are too young. But when we tell them we will tell them everything. Which is why we probably won't talk about it with them for a long time.

[Roni]

My 11 and 8 yo girls have known for a long time. Dd1 was one when it happened, & we actually got stuck in Atlanta, visiting her newborn cousin. (She, my mother, and I had flown out from Logan airport on the 10th!) DD1 is scared about the anniversary, but we are having dd3's first birthday party that day.

Dd1 was obviously too young to remember the attacks, but she absorbed the patriotism of the country at the time. She learned to sing God Bless America before she was even two. (She just learned it from hearing it all the time.) I think the first time I told her about the attacks was when we were watching a Disney movie called "Tiger Cruise" that took place on Sept. 11. I think dd2 learned about the attacks through osmosis. She probably heard us talking about it and asked questions. We always commemerate Sept. 11 in our family by dressing in red, white, & blue.

Because we were affected by the attacks (being stranded, knowing a couple of people who died that day, & having a brother/uncle in the military), it's not something I shy away from. Their uncle has gone to war three times (so far), so they get it. Dd2 isn't as involved in talking about it, but dd1 has strong opinions on the subject.

[lele]

there was a show on Nickelodeon last night I tried to record, but somehow messed up. It was called "WHAT HAPPENED? The Story of September 11, 2001" and I was hoping to screen it and see if was appropriate for my kids. I thought with all the coverage, this would be something to help them understand. I really hope Nick will replay it.

[TwinFoxes]

I actually hadn't thought about this. I do think it will be easier to tell kids now that Osama Bin Laden is dead...it won't be so scary knowing that the man behind it is no longer a threat. (They can learn about global terrorism later...)

[TwinFoxes]

there was a show on Nickelodeon last night I tried to record, but somehow messed up. It was called "WHAT HAPPENED? The Story of September 11, 2001" and I was hoping to screen it and see if was appropriate for my kids. I thought with all the coverage, this would be something to help them understand. I really hope Nick will replay it.

That sounds like a good idea...I think they did a program with Linda Ellerbee right after it happened, I wonder if it's the same, but updated?

[bubbaray]

Kinda. They know in very general terms what "war" is, a little bit about Hitler and OBL. I have had a very "glossed over" discussion with DD#1 about 9/11 and about our involvement in Afghanistan.

They do see the evening news and have seen clips of the towers collapsing. Thankfully, I haven't had the news clips of the OK City bombing (including the daycare) because I wouldn't want to explain that to them, I'm pretty sure it would stress them out (because they are in daycare). I don't think they have seen clips of the people jumping out of the towers, we usually pause the PVR for the news, so we can FF over that.

[lele]

That sounds like a good idea...I think they did a program with Linda Ellerbee right after it happened, I wonder if it's the same, but updated?

It was with her, so maybe it is. I really hope they replay it.

[kristac]

No. Hoping to put it off as long as possible. I need to talk with his teacher to see how/if they will be discussing it. At DS' K they did not mention it. I am totally dreading the day we have to talk about it.

[lablover]

I found out that DS now knows about it after walking in our bedroom to find DH and DS watching one of the graphic National Geographic specials on 9/11 this week. Right before DS's bedtime, no less. DS is a worrier, but thankfully this didn't seem to stress him out, although he had lots of questions.

I just googled the Nick show and found this:

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV-Blog/2011/0902/Linda-Ellerbee-hosts-9-11-anniversary-TV-special-for-kids-wins-praise

Looks like it will soon be available to watch online or through a podcast. I will definitely have DS watch this.

[GvilleGirl]

For those who are interested there is a book called Fireboat that briefly mentions it. http://www.amazon.com/Fireboat-Heroic-Adventures-Harvey-Picture/dp/0142403628/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314998572&sr=8-1

It is about a group of people who buy and restore an old fireboat which they never thought they would use. Then on 9/11 they actually use the fireboat. It does mention 2 planes hitting the Towers, but doesn't go into detail. It focuses more on the boat and people coming together than the "bad people".

This is not a younger kid picture book, but good if you want a conversation starter for older kids.

[KrisM]

The talked very briefly about it in 1st grade last year. Otherwise, no they don't know.

[hillview]

Nope. DS1 is very very sensitive. We don't ever have networks on when they are around. If it somehow comes up we will be as vague as possible. Something bad happened a long time ago -- before you were born -- and they caught the bad guys. Bad guys go to jail.
/hillary

[mom2binsd]

http://news.nick.com/08/2011/26/what-really-happened-september-11th/

This is the Nick description of the show.

XH was obsessed with coverage, and every year watches it, and DD who is now 8 has watched quite a bit with him and we have had some very frank discussions with her about it. DS who is 5 hasn't even noticed, and I'm not sure he's ready for it, but we will explain if he sees something or asks about it.

[kristac]

Here are some more resources for those braver parents then me:

9/11 Memorial:
http://www.911memorial.org/talking-your-children-about-911

Dr. Phil:
http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/43

Child Mind Institute:
http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2011-8-17-decade-later-how-talk-children-about-911

[egoldber]

I know they talk about it at least a little bit at older DD's school. But I don't think they dwell on it much. There are so many kids here who could have had family or relatives personally effected by the Pentagon and plane crashes that I think they are very cautious.

Older DD knows the basic facts, that on 9-11-01 some very bad people flew plans into the WTC and Pentagon and hurt a lot of people. I don't think she really knows much more than that. I have never let her watch footage although I am sure she has seen some of the more iconic pictures of the towers smoldering before they collapsed. I hope to shield her for a very long time from things like people jumping from the burning towers.

Younger DD knows nothing and I don't see any point in sharing these things yet with her.

[Cam&Clay]

DS1 was almost 3 when it happened. Since he's almost 13 now, he knows all about it. Not sure when we'll tell DS2.

I know that our school system has very specific plans for dealing with the anniversary this year. There will be a moment of silence system wide on Friday. There is a script we have to follow.