The following exchange is from Dialogue Group 7, Thread 8.

6. Our Kids Deserve Better
Wed, Dec 16, 1998 - 11:17 PM/EST
Kresel

I was listening to the news tonight and fearing the worst: Saddam's retaliation, G-d forbid. It's so scary to mess with a nut like him, but on the other hand, he has to be stopped somehow.

My toddler didn't want me to listen to the news. He wanted me to read to him. And somewhat reluctantly, I turned of the news and did.

It seemed so foolish to be reading Dr. Seuss amidst this crisis, but then I realized that I have the wrong attitude. My son deserves a pure, innocent world that matches his consciousness. His reality is just as important as that of "the real world."

"The real world" ought not to be real. The entire world should be as nurturing and innocuous as a kindergarten class so that people can grow up moral and good and just live.

8. Military Attack
Thu, Dec 17, 1998 - 2:55 AM/EST
Claudia

Kresel, your son justly deserves his own world, but no amount of love and nurturing can guarantee moral and good people, as I'm sure you know.

9. The saga continues
Thu, Dec 17, 1998 - 4:43 AM/EST
spudboy

As for our children, all one(or two if you beat the statistics)can do is nurture them and love them in your own way. By the time they are 14 or 15 they are doing pretty much what they want and just need some cash or a ride.

10. Understanding what is going on
Thu, Dec 17, 1998 - 11:03 AM/EST
OBoyz

I started this thread jsut hours before the actual bombings started. LIke I've mention in other threads I work in a middle school and the reaction of the students was very sombering. (On top of the pissy mood the whole thing put me in)

A majority of the students were worried about the action taken in Iraq and didn't understand why we did what we did. I did my damnedest to explain what was going on with out interjecting my personal biases. There were even a handful of kids scared that we were about to be bombed ourselves or thrown into a nuclear war.

To me this show how little play this "crissis" in Iraq is getting. Our press coverage is more conceared with stained dresses and tape recordings that life threatening events.

in closing this post, I want to send my prays to the soldier that are over ther and may be heading there soons and to their family members left back home.

11. From a military family member's point of view
Thu, Dec 17, 1998 - 12:47 PM/EST
MerryBWiggin

As to kids and whether or not they should hear about it -I think they need to know the "true" reasons for why this is happening. Luckily for me, my husband is much better at explaining it to my sons. What we try to do is to get the basic information into them first - THEN let them hear the news with us - otherwise all the commentary confuses the heck out of them.