Always Tell the Truth to Children (Where possible)
It can be easy to imagine shielding your child from the painful realities of the world. Though, this means that children may avoid feelings such as sadness, disappointment and rejection.
However, parents will soon come to understand that no matter how hard they try to protect children from the truth, they will find out. Children are astute and perceptive, and when parents pretend ‘everything is fine’ when the reality is quite the opposite, children will spot this charade and this leads to a deep sense of confusion from what the child perceives to be real and what is communicated.
To avoid this sense of confusion – and within some limits, of course – parents must disclose the real happenings of the world, be it war, natural disaster, or a death in the family. Essentially, difficult conversations develop a deep sense of resilience as children grow into an unpredictable world.
What’s important is the delivery, the management, and the care and nurture that follows news that may create uncomfortable emotions.
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