Mom & Dad: The World Is Messy and Ugly. Do My Kids Need to Know?

On this episode: Zak, Jamilah and Elizabeth help a listener who’s struggling with a deep pessimism about the state of this country — and he wants to make sure that his kids have some hope to hold onto. 

We also go over our week in parenting triumphs and fails. Then, if you’re sticking around for Slate Plus, we’ll share some strategies for explaining the war in Gaza to kids – and hopefully not frightening them in the process.

On that topic, here are some resources that our hosts wanted to share:

• From the New York Times: What I Told My Daughter About The War
• From NPR: How to talk to children about the violence in Israel and Gaza
• From The National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Talking to Children about War

Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. 

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Podcast produced by Maura Currie and Rosemary Belson.

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