Talking To Your Child About Scary Stuff

Before we start I want to give a warning that I'm going to discuss some potentially sensitive topics.    I want to talk to you about when our kids say scary sh*t.   Like when they say something violent, or really freaking dark.    I want to approach this with compassion and sensitivity because I know it’s unsettling and uncomfortable. Sometimes parents are even too embarrassed to admit what it was their child said but…  It’s a reality for a lot of parents.    Sometimes children say the most off-putting things.  It can be targeted at their sibling, or even you. Sometimes about themselves or a peer. Heck, it might be about someone random or just a fictional character, but when you hear it it’s shocking either way!    Are they just repeating something they saw from a TV show they shouldn’t have been watching or from an older friend who wasn’t paying attention to their words?    Or is this an indication of a bigger problem?   I’ll avoid listing specific examples of this in the email because I have an inkling that if you're even remotely thinking “this is something that I can relate to” then you likely can.    And I promise you’re not alone with this challenge.   That’s why this week’s topic is going to be how we as parents can respond to our children when they say scary or dark things while also not shaming them or scaring them. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is recorded live every Wednesday at 1:30pm ET/ 12:30pm CT/ 10:30am PT on Facebook: facebook.com/arfamilyservices