This post isn’t about uplift, as I have none to offer. It’s not about expertise, as I’m no expert. I’m merely a normal parent, a relatively new one at that, and it’s at times like this that I most feel the weight of that responsibility.
I have a two-year-old son. He isn’t yet able to comprehend an event like yesterday’s bombings, let alone formulate questions about it, but seeing the footage would undoubtedly scare him (especially since he’s too young to understand whatever explanation we might offer for the event). Which makes watching the news nearly impossible.
As with most everything else, a complicated situation is complicated even further by my responsibilities as a father.
I love Boston. I attended Boston College and lingered in the city for another decade after graduation, in Brookline, Southie and the South End – not more than a ten-minute walk from where the bombs exploded. It’s a great town, home to many close friends and the setting of some of my favorite memories, a handful of which were actually made on Marathon Mondays, watching the race from the Pizzeria Uno on Boylston Street – shocking close to the finish line – keeping track of the Red Sox game while cheering on the runners. It’s truly a shame that this tragedy will now be associated with what has always been one of the best days of Spring in New England.
Even without a personal connection, tragedies like this used to be easier – somehow – before I had a child.
Last week I wrote a jokey post about all the new stuff I’ve become afraid of now that I have a child to take care of. Jokey is my default mode; I don’t go for the sentimental stuff and I won’t do that here. But Boston was my home for a long time and I’m still very much connected to it, and as soon as I learned of what had happened, I wanted to know more. Unfortunately, my son made that difficult.
Our only TV is in the living room, which doubles as my son’s playroom much of the time. Watching the news would mean putting potentially graphic, definitely disturbing imagery right in his line of sight. It’s not imagery he would necessarily understand, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have an impact. My wife and I do our best to prevent him from seeing violent programs as much as possible, fictionalized or not; it’s not the kind of thing he needs to see at his age, even as it gets harder and harder to prevent.
We’re not naive; we know it’s impossible to avoid and that even without TV and the rest of pop culture, violence always finds a way to invade everyone’s lives, one way or another. But we feel it’s our role as parents to shield our kids from the darker aspects of human nature for as long as possible.
Still, I wanted to know. I wanted to see where the explosions occurred, I wanted to know what had happened, I wanted to be sure my friends – and their friends – were okay. I wanted to know how close it was to that Pizzeria Uno. But the story broke late afternoon, on a day when my son decided not to take his customary nap and demanded, as always, to be entertained. So I was forced to keep the TV off, and wait until I could sneak away from helping build a LEGO bridge and glance at my iPhone.
It was fine; on a day like that, a thousand miles away, it was nothing. And it was worth it to keep my son as blissfully ignorant as possible for as long as possible. But it made me think – for the thousandth time, in the thousandth different way, how difficult – impossible, really – it is to protect our kids.
I’ve seen articles and blog posts and news pieces and interviews on morning talk shows, all detailing how to talk to your kids about tragedies. But my son is two. We won’t be talking to him about what happened yesterday. We’ll be keeping the TV off altogether. And if he does catch a glimpse of something or notice Mommy and Daddy are upset, we’ll simply distract him with an episode of “Yo Gabba Gabba!” or give him a cookie. We’re not at the point where we need to have a discussion. Not yet.
But we’re getting there. Unfortunately, we’ll have plenty of other terrible events like this to deal with when he’s older and is aware of the world and wants to know – deserves to know – in a real, meaningful way, exactly what happened and why. Eventually he’ll be able to find all the information he needs with or without our help, so we’ll need to figure out the best way to give that to him.
The scariest part? Despite this awareness, despite knowing I’ll soon be faced with the need to comfort my son in the aftermath of some future catastrophe, despite my acceptance of this responsibility, I’ll be no closer to answers then than I am today.
Some things simply can’t be explained.
Very well said and very true.
Completely agree…can’t explain it. I wrote a post today talking about how I choose to tell my kids about senseless events such as these. They are older and they WILL find out about it. I think at their age, they need it straight with no sugar coating. With that said, there is a level of censorship on the amount of what they take in, but since they will find out about it, we have to talk about it. I don’t sit down with them and give them a lesson or preach to them about this and that. I talk to them as an adult to kids and let them know there is craziness that can’t be explained in the world. Also, with daughters, there are so many more things to worry about in general.
Mit einer intuitiven Benutzeroberfläche, nahtloser Navigation und einem responsiven Design sorgen wir dafür, dass jeder Aspekt Ihrer Zeit bei
uns so reibungslos wie möglich verläuft. Dieser ist ganz einfach
und innerhalb von Sekunden erledigt. Wenn Sie sich den Willkommensbonus sichern möchten, dann können Sie mit einem Klick auf das Angebot
direkt den Registrierungsprozess in Gang setzen. Die Menüführung ist eindeutig und einfach und es wurde auf die nötige Übersichtlichkeit geachtet, ohne ein ansprechendes
Design zu vernachlässigen. Dieser kann unter der Adresse kontaktiert werden.
Copyright © 2017 – 2025 neueonline-casinos.com. Lucky Seven Casino bietet seit seiner Gründung 2021
eine breite Palette an Online-Casinospielen mit echtem Geld und zahlreichen innovativen Features.
Lucky7Even De bietet eine große Auswahl an Spielen, von klassischen Spielautomaten und Tischspielen bis hin zu Live-Casino-Spielen. Mit anpassbaren Funktionen, lohnenden Treueprogrammen und einzigartigen, spielerorientierten Services bieten wir dir
eine Umgebung, die auf maximale Freude ausgelegt ist.
Sie können jederzeit auf Ihre Spielvergangenheit
zugreifen und bei Bedarf Anpassungen vornehmen, um verantwortungsvoll zu spielen. Lucky7even Casino
bietet regelmäßig Freispiele auf die heißesten neuen Slots an.
Jeder neue Spieler im Lucky7even Casino wird mit einem fantastischen Willkommensbonus begrüßt,
der sowohl Match-Boni als auch Freispiele beinhaltet.
Unsere großzügigen Willkommensboni, Treueprämien und exklusiven Aktionen sorgen dafür,
dass Sie bei jedem Besuch das Beste herausholen. Mit Echtzeit-Dealern und einer sozialen Atmosphäre spielen Sie traditionelle Spiele wie Blackjack, Baccarat und Roulette mit einem echten Dealer ganz bequem von zu Hause aus.
Für Spieler, die strategieorientierte Spiele bevorzugen, bieten wir eine große Auswahl an Tischspielen wie Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat und Poker.
References:
https://online-spielhallen.de/admiral-casino-freispiele-ihr-weg-zu-extra-spielspas-und-gewinnen/
The excitement of reading opponents, bluffing, and
making calculated bets is a big draw for those who enjoy the strategic aspects
of poker. Whether you’re looking to test your skills against others in a friendly game or participate in one of the competitive poker tournaments,
there are opportunities for players at all levels.
Whether you’re a fan of classic pokie games with simple mechanics or prefer the excitement of modern video pokies packed with engaging features, there is something for everyone.
New members of the Vantage Rewards program receive a welcome offer, which
may include free play or other benefits.
It is no secret that casinos tend to make any city a bit more attractive if the Casino is suited to near
popular landmarks or has an amazing view. Queensland is planning on attracting more tourist by erecting more casinos.
This brick-and-mortar Casino is much smaller than its parent casino; however,
it is still one of the gambling establishments in Queensland.
While it may be one of the oldest and smallest casinos, it
is one of the few that has a sporting Arena. This casino site opened in 1996,
and over the years, it has ensured that all the players get the most out of each
bed made. You can choose from playing electronic gaming machines to
trying Your Hand at poker, baccarat, blackjack craps,
sic bo and roulette.
References:
https://blackcoin.co/neospin-casino-australia-a-comprehensive-overview/
Three robbers are all you need to trigger the bonus game.
Grouped wilds make it easy to win cash in this 5 reel bonus round slot.
No matter what you prefer to play, there are dozens of great options.
When new slots are added each month, they’ll be listed in “New Games.” Anything new is placed
in here to make them easy to find. If you want to play for
fun, you don’t have to sign up.
You can also expect to find a user-friendly browser-based instant
play casino to access – saving you more time than ever.
All the links and menu areas are a breeze to get to,
so you can easily log into your account and play whenever –
and wherever – you wish. The new games area is marked out by a diamond, and you’ll surely find plenty of sparkling games to play in there.
Just place some real wagers on your favorite games at PlayCroco and that’s it.
Brilliant pokies, sensational table games, exciting video poker titles… if you want all this and much more, you’re in the
right place to get it all. Players must be at least 18 years
old to register and participate in real money gaming.
References:
https://blackcoin.co/all-caesars-properties-in-las-vegas-2025-list/