How to talk to your kids about 9/11
By Sharayah Colter
This anniversary of 9/11 – 25 years after the terror attack in 2001 – my husband and I have an almost 10-year-old son. So, while previous years have included vague explanations about a very sad attack on our country, this year we knew it was time to sit down for a more in-depth talk about what took place in our nation a quarter of a century ago now, even though to be honest, it still feels like just yesterday in so many ways.
Many of you are probably arriving at these same discussions. How do you bring the next generation along into understanding what happened at age-appropriate levels? Here are a few thoughts to help get you started:
Stick to the truth. Obviously. It never helps to tell a false story, though sometimes you may convey a veiled story. Make sure each thing you explain is true, and take the time to think it through beforehand and while you talk and answer questions. For example, you probably are not going to include mention that a man’s heart was found without his torso during the recovery period. Be judicious about what you share.
For smaller children, “Very mean people did something that hurt our nation and makes us sad to remember it,” would suffice.
For kids who are getting older, you may begin to explain that many people died as a result of some people purposefully harming our nation and attacking our free way of life.
The discussion with our son this year explained that people intentionally flew airplanes into buildings, killing thousands of people, and forever changing our country. We talked about the Pentagon being hit as well and about a fourth plane crashing in Pennsylvania, and then we talked about the ways security has changed in America to prevent these kinds of attacks from happening in the future.
We watched a short compilation of video and news footage from September 11th with him for the first time as well and shared our own personal stories of where we were when the attacks unfolded that Tuesday morning.
Then, we explained that as Americans who love our nation and our freedom, it is our goal to work every day to keep our nation free and prosperous and not to give in to those who would wish to harm our people, our way of life, or our faith in God.
Personally, this is one reason we are invested in the American Revival Project.
As Christian parents, it is one of our chief goals to preserve a free America for the next generation so that our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren can still enjoy the great American experiment where we are free to worship and serve God, not oppressed by a tyrannical government, and able to cherish life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness the way our founding fathers intended.
This September 11, take a moment – no matter the age of your children – to find a way to remember that fateful moment when the second plane hit and we realized this was no accident: there are people who actively wish to destroy America and our spirit.
Our founders prevailed through blood, loss, tragedy and opposition to form America.
The Greatest Generation did the same when it was their turn to stand for truth and freedom.
Then America rose up, dusted off the debris from 9/11, put up more flags than ever before, built memorials to those we lost, and pressed forward.
Last year, we watched as Charlie Kirk was martyred and our president was almost assassinated as well, and like the men and women before us, we swore to ourselves that we again, will NEVER FORGET and will take up the mantle of freedom. We pick up the flag from the battlefield before it hits the ground, and we run forward.
We will never forget. We will always press on. This has been the American way from its bloody founding to this very day, and it will not change on our watch, nor on the watch of our children, Lord willing.
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