Like a sponge...
So, Gage soaks things up like a sponge. I mean, you look at your child, and this ever-expanding vocabulary, and you just get amazed at how much they grow and change and learn all the time.
On the flip-side...Gage said some things last night that completely took me by surprise. And, it wasn't all happy & cute... Now, he's 2 years & 5 months. He should not be talking about school shootings. He should NOT be afraid of going to school. (he doesn't yet go to school or daycare, but he will go to school SOME day!) Anyway, I guess with all of this in the media about the most recent school shooting, he's heard bits & pieces, and it has stuck with him. Last night he said something...I forget the wording verbatim...but it was something along the lines of "and he shot 'em with his gun at the school", "go to school and they just shoot me?" It was completely shocking & disturbing. He can't even grammatically construct a perfect sentence, and yet, he already knows about school shootings and that guns can kill people. [...or bullets can...or people who pull the trigger....let's not argue over that point of do guns kill people or do people kill people, mmmkay?]
So....I'm thinking that perhaps we don't need to watch the 5 & 6 o'clock news programs when he is up & about.
Labels: Gage
posted by Lainey-Paney @ 6:35 AM
22 Comments:
It is shocking. Sometimes you forget they are listening...even to the news. There should be a happy new program so that you can show there that there are good things going on too.
OH MY GOSH...How sad that at 2 he already has to be worried about going to school...Our boys haven't said anything about it yet...we always have CNN and the evening news on..I wonder if they have any thoughts/feelings about it? I guess this is something we should talk to them about...who would have thought?!?!
Wow. I gotta say, he's pretty perceptive. It's sad, though, that he's scared of things he shouldn't be worried about at such a young age. Poor guy. I'm not at all good about watching what is said around my little one. Thankfully she's still too too little yet to understand. But I guess time sneaks up on you and I'd better get in the habit now.
wow....just..wow. That is so sad, isnt it? Poor little Gage, afraid to go to school already....Man, I gotta go pray.
Wow, that's nuts. I hadn't even thought about Lila picking up on things like that. I guess I should turn off the news when she's around as well.
A very sad little story.
Those little ones are all ears...the big problem is knowing what stuck with them and also knowing how they intrepret it all.
We try not to watch or listen to the news when the kiddies are around...this world we live in is a bit too crazy for innocent ears.
Kids are quite good at picking things up. It is shocking and scary though. I hope he forgets over time...
Yet another reason why I hate watching the news these days... but it's crazy how perceptive he is. I certainly didn't know about those things when III was two!
It's crazy what they pick up on and even crazier that school shootings are something that we have to worry about.
I just think they need to edit the news a bit at that hour of the day. Watch their language, or at least warn before they run disturbing news.
Heidi
This post reminded me about Travis when he was just over 2 years old. He was a first-hand witness to the news on 9/11, and it made a MAJOR impression on him, even if just for a few moments (I was very careful to not let him watch after I figured out what was going on.
The best thing you can do is talk to him about it - very simply. He knows about the shootings, tell him that school isn't that way, this was a sad time at one school, and when he goes to school, people will love and protect him.
From MSNBC
October 3, 2006 NICKEL MINES, Pa. - A milk-truck driver carrying three guns and a childhood grudge stormed a one-room Amish schoolhouse Monday, sent the boys and adults outside, barricaded the doors with two-by-fours, and then opened fire on a dozen girls, killing three people before committing suicide. Early Tuesday, two more children died of wounds, a hospital spokeswoman and state police said. - AP-
The day after this happened, not more than an HOUR away from our home, Maggie's daycare had instituted a "locked-door-policy"
The doors were always kept closed, but not locked. The daycare door is not easily accesible from the street. Now you have to go "the long way" around the building & ring the bell, while you wait for a teacher to open the door for you.
Fast-forward a few months.....
One cold, wet morning, another Mom was standing there waiting with us & she griped about having to wait. Maggie, who is only 4 1/2 years old, turns to this woman and says, "Well, I would rather stand in the cold and wait for Miss Betsy to open the door than have some guy come in and shoot me."
MONTHS later, she remembers WHY we have to ring the bell & wait. It breaks my heart that they have to hear about these things and they don't have the same carefree childhood that we had. Granted, I didn't grow up in Mayberry. Far from it. But at least we could walk the streets and not have to worry about random crazies shooting you at school.
Sorry about the long comment.
Tag, you're it!!! Check out my post from today. :)
That is so sad. And appalling. Do try and keep him away from the news. Let him have that wonderful innocence of childhood for as long as he can.
I totally know your feeling. We have never had any toys involving guns or violence. Not even soldier toys or GI Joe. Then Jack one day took some legos and put them together and was holding them like a gun and saying pow, pow. I just sat there in wonderment.
I just always try to talk a bit about it to know where he heard something or what he thinks about it.
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Wow! I'm so impressed by this story. I think you should use the opportunity to explain stuff like this to him. No matter how little he is it's never to earlyy for a life lesson of right and wrong. That way you also alleviate any of his fears and he will be more apt to some to you in the future when something else worries him.
im wondering, can we just keep our kids in a bubble? so many things just make me sad that i brought kids into this world.
Rach worries too. I hate that they have to think about that at all.
Yeah, that's why I never know what's going on in the world anymore. Ever since the Toddler has started to mimic what's on TV, the nightly news has been off limits. *Sigh*
It is just awful and sad. My daugher is very perceptive too and says things that blow my mind. I wish everything evil in the world would just go away, and our kids could grow up in a peaceful place.
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