We were on our way to the local aquatic center with friends in my trusty, dented little Subaru. We passed a few yard signs for our small town’s upcoming election. I was listening to my 10-year-old chat with her friends about how excited they were about summer’s approach. Of course, right? But get this. “Yeah, I can’t wait for summer, with all this election stuff and the school shootings.”
Well. Is that how you know that your daughter is growing up in a different world?
I eventually talked with her about the local election: That despite she and her siblings’ wide-eyed ingestion of the scrolling newsfeed in 2016, elections are not usually scary things in our country. (This was less so in Africa, where she grew up, so I get that, too.)
But either way, my takeaway? There’s an increased, low-grade climate of fear some of our kids are grappling with. Many of you seemed to connect with Talking to Our Kids about Yet Another School Shooting. So today, for all of us, I’m compiling an infographic (totally printable) to help us mindfully walk with our kids through their fears, building solid habits to address their anxiety. (You can find more in this post and this post, on Helping Kids Deal with Their Fears.)
It may be a scarier world. But our God, and His far-greater promises, are the same.
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