# NPR around kids?



## rubidoux (Aug 22, 2003)

I'm curious if anyone listens to NPR with their kids and, if so, what age they were when you started to do it.

I've been listening to NPR in the car with Milo since he was five or six. There have always been stories that I felt uneasy about him hearing (those involving war, rape, other kinds of violence, etc) and sometimes I have turned to another station for a few minutes. But he actually listens pretty intently and if I don't turn the radio on he will ask for it. He would much rather listen to the news than to music. And he loves a lot of the shows, especially This American Life. But he also routinely says he doesn't want to get out of the car until an All Things Considered segment is over.

I have been wondering, though, about how other parents feel about this because I've been driving Milo and one of his classmates (different kid each time) to the park once a week for their school "park day" and when I do it, I always change to a music station. I just have no idea if other parents allow their kids to hear this kind of stuff. There are times that I'm uneasy about it, but I think he has learned so much and the good far outweighs the bad. And maybe he's at okay age to be hearing the bad stuff, too. It would be pretty weird to not know it was out their until you were much older than he is (he's 8 now).

Also, I'm curious, if you do listen to it yourself, how old are you? I'm 41 and I drive a volvo station wagon and I'm afraid that makes me the *perfect* NPR demographic.


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## onlyzombiecat (Aug 15, 2004)

Dh has always had it on in the car since dd was quite young. Sometimes I have asked him to change it to music on a long car ride where story after story of war or politics just got to me. I actually don't think dd has paid much attention except to things like Car Talk or Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me. I asked her and she said she hasn't been bothered by anything she has heard on NPR.

I'm 37 and Dh is 31 and dd is 11 and we are long time NPR listeners.

I guess I would just ask the other parents if the children are sensitive about news stories or ask if they listen to NPR.

When we've had other kids in our car they've always been so occupied with each other that I don't think it mattered what was on the radio.


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## Melaniee (Apr 15, 2002)

I do not. There are too many things on there I wouldn't want Dc (ages 6 and 9) to hear or know about. I'd definitely be upset if Dc were in another car and newstories and things were on. However listening to anything on the radio in the car is generally frowned upon at our school so I'm not overly concerned about it on field trips. And at age 9 the stuff the kids come up with on their own is frightening enough!


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## velochic (May 13, 2002)

I have absolutely no doubt that we fit perfectly into the "demographic" for NPR. Age, profession, education, interests and all. We have always listened to NPR with dd in the car. She is now 9 and it has spawned a lot of excellent discussions. We've never shied away from her hearing about what is happening in the world. While she is sensitive, she's also very curious and it has never caused anything problems. We are a news hounds in this house and she has access to news on TV and newspapers (NYT and USA Today) every day as well.

To and from school, we listen to Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She's also often in the car for the Diane Rehm Show, Fresh Air, or The World (which is a favorite). On the weekends, we actively seek out Car Talk, Wait Wait, and A Prairie Home Companion for laughs. We also like A Way With Words (great discussion there) and The Splendid Table. We also have some local shows we enjoy. The same station plays Thistle and Shamrock, Arts of Space, and classical music at other times and has a nice afternoon jazz program, so it's pretty much the only station we ever have on in the car.

When we have other kids in the car, I put on a book on tape.


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## 95191 (Nov 8, 2007)

Proud members and yes, both children have listened and we never have turned it off- it allows a great open discussion and you are not viewing graphics (as with TV, etc)- war for example is real to many children around the world - listening is important to us as well as having our children read the newspapers-this is a tool that starts early in our family---we use both and never had any reason thus far not to


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## Adaline'sMama (Apr 16, 2010)

My kid is just 18 months, and she loves Radiolab







Its all the crazy noises and sounds they make.

I will continue to listen to NPR until my children are old enough to beg me to put music on because they are bored in the car. And even then, they will have to tolerate it as my primary form of background noise at home. Ill admit it, Im an addict


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## HopefulJo (Dec 28, 2009)

I'm an addict, too. I listen to almost no other radio, I get all my news from NPR, and we love the weekend programming that's already been mentioned. Right now, our little guy is just 9 months, so doesn't "get" anything that's being said. I've actually thought about this, though- there are some edgy stories covered on NPR, and even I turn the station when there's a warning before the story that it has graphic content. I especially appreciate those warnings!

That said, I probably will continue to listen to NPR with my children in the car. I'd rather them ask me about real world events that may be hard to talk about than them singing along to raunchy pop-song lyrics.


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## VisionaryMom (Feb 20, 2007)

We've always listened to NPR. As with velochic's family, we've had a number of discussions from listening to NPR stories.


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## hildare (Jul 6, 2009)

yeah, it's about the only thing that's ever on at our house/in the car. we particularly enjoy the weekend npr programming we get (though i think each local station plays different stuff).

lately i've had some love/hate with some of the npr stuff, though. it amazes me, for example, how very pro-vax they are, and even if we did vax, i'd still be offended at the lack of a balanced perspective with that... i have a facebook feed, too, and it seems like every time there's a slow news day they do a vax story to get facebook commenters riled up. i assume they are getting some major contributions from industry or else political pressure, EXACTLY because of the demographics (all those educated hippie npr listeners are the ones who don't vax... let's target that audience this way)

AND i think it is most curious about the lack of coverage of the occupy wall street stuff going on. kind of weird, the silence..

but, overall, we enjoy. i don't filter/censor, i think kids tend to tune out stuff they don't understand. and personally, i'm ultra sensitive these days so i'm likely to turn it off it there's something that is just too much for me to handle.


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## verde (Feb 11, 2007)

Like other posters I listen to NPR all the time. My 6y/o DD is used to it. Sometimes in the car she'll ask for music and we'll trade off with each other.


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## 95191 (Nov 8, 2007)

Quote:


> though i think each local station plays different stuff


they sure do!

ahhhhhhhh we have 6 NPRs that we can get live on the radio and none have "Radio Lab"!!!!! - mostly in the car-if it is a long trip- we download all the NPR stuff we can't get and listen to it that way-but pause when it's time for news


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## childsplay (Sep 4, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *velochic*
> 
> I have absolutely no doubt that we fit perfectly into the "demographic" for NPR. *Age, profession, education, interests and all*. We have always listened to NPR with dd in the car. She is now 9 and it has spawned a lot of excellent discussions. We've never shied away from her hearing about what is happening in the world. While she is sensitive, she's also very curious and it has never caused anything problems. We are a news hounds in this house and she has access to news on TV and newspapers (NYT and USA Today) every day as well.
> 
> ...


Just wondering what you mean by profession and education? I've always found NPR geared toward everyone, regardless of education or profession. Around here, most people have a radio in their kitchen which is usually tuned to our (only) NPR station and it's on all day. I can walk into my uncle's house and it will be on - my uncle never got past 6'th grade and worked labor jobs his whole life, - or I can walk into my SIL's house - she's an M.D. - and it's on. When I was a single teenage Mom on trying to finish high school and working fast food it's all I listened to.

People listen to it because it's interesting and they're interested, and it's public, as in - for everybody.

OP- I wouldn't worry too much about having NPR on when you're transporting other kids, if they're anything like my kids they'll be too busy giggling and chattering to even notice what's on the radio.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

CHILDSPLAY - i think velochic meant the kind of people who LISTEN to NPR, not who NPR is meant for. most listeners are college educated and actually our local NPR broadcasts from our local university.

we are a radio hound so radio is on all the time.

not just NPR but our own local college station, and moth radio (we are storytelling 'fanatics' out here).

we dont drive right now but its our favourite thing to do while working in the kitchen.

the radio has always been on. when dd was younger she found NPR boring and always prefered music. now we do both depending on what's on or what we are in the mood for.

and yes even for us the radio has contributed a lot in our lives. its generated a lot of interesting convo in our lives. when last year dd heard about the impact of meditation on tortured monks in tibet she decided to use it for her anxiety (mind u i had been telling her about it for a long time). it helped.

another particular favourite of ours is TEDtalks. we mostly listen to them and watch a few of them. mostly on philosophy. though we did watch the one on kombucha http://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_lee_grow_your_own_clothes.html and the behaviour of particles in a vaccum http://www.ted.com/talks/aaron_o_connell_making_sense_of_a_visible_quantum_object.html and ..... i could go on and on and on.

we even have a radio in the bathroom. music station. blasting to hear over shower.


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## One_Girl (Feb 8, 2008)

I am not in the NPR demographic age, but I have been listening to NPR since my dd was a baby. When she was in preschool she went through a stage of having a very hard time hearing the harder stories so I changed the station when they came on, but now that she is older she often wants to stay engaged with the stories that are on even if they are stories I wouldn't typically choose to have her hear. I mostly let her choose her comfort level with the stories that are on. We have great conversations about what we hear and I love how connected to the world she is. In the car we tend to listen to a variety of stations with music because music is something that I really enjoy and want my dd to value, but when we have friends over to the house I change the station to music. I don't want to risk my dd losing a friend because they talk about what they hear on NPR at our house, especially when I can just go on my phone later and read the story there.


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## MamaMunchkin (Feb 3, 2011)

I usually listen to NPR while driving, but not when the children are around. With the children, we usually chat instead. No particular reason, just how it has worked so far.


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## velochic (May 13, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *childsplay*
> 
> Just wondering what you mean by profession and education?


I meant exactly what I said. In response to one of the OP's question I said that WE (dh and I) fit the demographic profile: http://www.wqub.org/media/NPR%20Profile%20stats%202009/NPR%20demographics.pdf

Doesn't mean anyone outside of the demographic can't enjoy it or those in it have to. Otherwise my dd would be SOL because she loves opera and she certainly isn't in the demographic for opera attendees and my dh hates sports, so there goes that demographic, too.

(I think the link is fixed now.)


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## LynnS6 (Mar 30, 2005)

I listened to NPR around the kids until they hit about 3. Both are pretty sensitive kids and were getting upset by the content. They were too young to be able to put it in perspective, so I just quit. Now we've been going so long without it on around the kids that I've discovered I like the quiet at home, and we have pretty good talks in the car. I think I could probably turn it on in the car again, and the kids would be fine. (I know ds would be, dd (age 7), might still need to wait a year or so.) But then my kids are hearing about wars, etc. other places. Dd and I had a very interesting discussion about the Iraq war last week.


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

It depends, for me.

I probably fit the demographic and I'm a longtime listener/member; it is my primary news source, I'd say.

In the morning, when we're eating breakfast, I turn it on and we listen while we eat - if the story is too far out there for a 6 and 4.5yo to really get the context, etc., I will turn it off. The kids are pretty well informed for their ages, but I'm not a diehard "must listen at all costs" and give the kids nightmares (as happened when they described the casualties of one particularly horrific bombing). As they've aged, I've turned it off less and less but I am still a little selective. It does have a lot of good conversation starters, I think, but when my kids were 3 & 2, I wasn't having many of those conversations just yet.


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## MeTooMama (Sep 29, 2011)

Our family loves NPR. We listen to it with the kids around. Sometimes, our eldest asks questions, which we love and we grab at the chance to connect with her. If it's a particular rough topic we have been known to throw on the ipod. But, it's not really censored around here. We value the bad because without it we cannot appreciate the good. As a Christian family we hope for the best but as an intelligent family we know bad things happen. Their uncle is a soldier so we don't shelter them from the reality of death, but we do find it's easier to talk about if they hear it on the radio than if they see it on the television. Plus, NPR has some really fun radio shows that they enjoy outside of the negative stories. They love the Science day stuff and enjoy listening to jokes, even if they don't understand the politics of it all.


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## NellieKatz (Jun 19, 2009)

I had my child at 43. He's now eight and well, you can do the math. 

He's listened to NPR since....well....forever. Anywhere we go in the car, it's on. I do turn down the volume if a story is particularly horrific, but otherwise I leave it on and it creates such great opportunities for conversation! Also, we're sort of un-schooly homeschoolers, so I think of it as educational. He will ask me what things mean, and I explain. Or, if I sense that the topic is something that he needs to know more about, I will expand on it. An example would be around Martin Luther King's birthday, talking about race relations, or other political subjects. Today there was a lot of talk about the Greek debt crisis, so I said (knowing that he is listening in the back seat) "do you know what debt is?" "No." So I got to explain what debt is, in simple terms of course. The list goes on. Also, the cultural stuff that he hears on NPR is wonderful! Music from around the world, interviews with performers of all kinds.....I love it!! He is going to have a much more worldly-wise awareness than I ever did. My upbringing was very USA-centric. Until 9/11 it was like the outside world didn't even exist. I am embarrassed to say that. But the great thing is, we learn TOGETHER. It's thrilling. The world is an amazing place and I'm happy to share it with my son.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rubidoux*
> 
> I'm curious if anyone listens to NPR with their kids and, if so, what age they were when you started to do it.
> 
> ...


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

I just stopped listening to it regularly. I normally listen morning and evening as I'm driving the kids around. I don't have an issue listening with my kids in the car, but I do turn it off when thee are other kids that aren't mine. Same with my music since we tend to listen to the Top 20 station.







DD2 is a huge music fan and she complains/whines nonstop when I have NPR on, she wants her music. I'm missing it so she is going to have to learn how to wait here soon. I'm younger then many listeners but I've always loved the news. I remember reading the paper daily by age 10.


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## Dar (Apr 12, 2002)

I listened to it lot when Rain was little, although sometimes we did books on tape, especially with other kids in the car when she was youngish., and sometimes we listened to music. I remember turning the channel once or twice when she was disturbed by a story, but mostly we just talked about stuff. She's pretty hooked now - she just got her own radio show on her college's student radio station and dreams of interning on WAMU next year, and eventually for This American Life in NYC....


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## Amylcd (Jun 16, 2005)

We frequently listen to it ... mostly because my DD likes to read in the car and can not focus with music on.


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## rubidoux (Aug 22, 2003)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dar*
> 
> I listened to it lot when Rain was little, although sometimes we did books on tape, especially with other kids in the car when she was youngish., and sometimes we listened to music. I remember turning the channel once or twice when she was disturbed by a story, but mostly we just talked about stuff. She's pretty hooked now - she just got her own radio show on her college's student radio station and dreams of interning on WAMU next year, and eventually for This American Life in NYC....


That's so cool! I wish I was that This American Life guy. What a fun job that would be! My ex-step-MIL (dh's dad's ex, lol) does bits for Marketplace. I heard a story of hers the other day -- something about an energy bar company in kenya doing something for hunger relief -- and it was like having her in the car with us, very odd. And I was so jealous!

I'm happy to hear I'm not the only one who's kids listen. I don't think I'd be okay with them seeing/hearing just any old news, but I trust NPR, even if the topic is dicey. I haven't seen TV news in years, but I have a feeling that would be over the top. Anyhow, I think I'll continue to turn the station when kids from school are in the car. Even if other parents are okay with it in the abstract, they might feel like they'd want to know if their kid heard something outside of their comfort zone.

I'm gonna have to go check out RadioLab online. I don't think we get that in san diego.


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

I must be odd b/c NPR bores me - I need good music, or funny radio talk shows while I'm driving or cleaning. Really, I listen to my ipod or Pandora more than local radio stations. I don't fit the demographic, though, so there ya go.

However, my mom always listened to NPR when I was a kid, and I would say that it was fine to hear what they had to say, just that it was boring to me, then, too.  So, I definitely wouldn't say having it on with kids around is going to leave them more rounded or mean they will enjoy listening to it then or later on as an adult. But depending on what is being discussed, it's probably fine - either it will be interesting or it will go over their head, I'm thinking. If a kid complains, though, I'd say put on some music or something of their choice, just b/c it seems unfair to force them to listen to something they don't want to for the short periods of time they are stuck in the car. Maybe it's just me, but I have plenty of opportunity to listen to what I want at home or in the car when my kids aren't around (but they are also all in school full-time, so I get that it's different when they are all little).


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## parsley (May 7, 2011)

I love NPR and have listened to it almost exclusively in the car since I was about 20!

DD refers to it as "mommy music" and pretty quickly insists I turn on some kid music-- generally an album on the IPOD. I'm pretty compliant in this regard as I enjoy the kid music and like singing along with her.

I am very strict with DD's exposure to violence and she's a sensitive kid and feels tends to get scared about anything involving death. She has NEVER seen tv news or anything on broadcast tv. That said, we talk about political and social issues (like homelessness recently, for example) and talk about why it's important to know about what's happening, to care about what's happening and to take action. These political and social issues generally come up from some book we are reading.

I think she tunes NPR out. It takes attention and energy to focus on the material being presented.


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## philomom (Sep 12, 2004)

I absolutely adore NPR and listened to it faithfully even when the kids were small. I pop back on a CD, though, if they are talking war, torture or the Middle East. But basic news, book reviews, environmental stuff? Bring it on!


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## ananas (Jun 6, 2006)

No kids here, yet, but I do listen to NPR, usually as background noise at work. I see no reason that kids of any age shouldn't listen to NPR...as another poster mentioned, they are not seeing images like they would be on TV. Anything not age appropriate will most likely slip right over their heads, and once they are asking questions about topics, they're old enough to get answers on them. A large part of my feelings on this come down to the fact that I was a very smart but very sheltered child...I knew about things that were happening but couldn't ever get explanations about them. I don't intend on raising my children that way.

Also, most music you could be listening to instead is just gross...at least NPR is educational.


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## Adaline'sMama (Apr 16, 2010)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rubidoux*
> 
> That's so cool! I wish I was that This American Life guy. .


I ♥ Ira Glass. He is at the top of my list for people to marry if DH wasnt in the picture


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## KempsMama (Dec 1, 2008)

My three year old has NPR on in his bedroom nearly 24/7. They play classical music at night, and the radio doesn't get shut off. He will lay on his bed and listen to A Prairie Home Companion and Car Talk. He comes and tells me the weather report for the day. He's heard somethings I'm sure he "shouldn't" but I don't keep my kids in a bubble. Life is out there, it isn't always pleasant, and there are much healthier ways to deal with that than pretending it doesn't exist, IMO. I understand why some parents do it, it's just not how I want to parent.


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## journeymom (Apr 2, 2002)

I listen to a lot of NPR, and have so for my kids' entire lives. I do switch to music (or turn the radio off) when I have other kids in the car, and when a story is particularly graphic. Or if we get bored. Sixteen year old dd doesn't whine about NPR being boring, but she does sometimes ask (beg, really) to put music on.

Edited to add, I'm 43 y.o. For what it's worth I drive a VW Passat wagon.


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## journeymom (Apr 2, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Peony*
> 
> I just stopped listening to it regularly. I normally listen morning and evening as I'm driving the kids around. I don't have an issue listening with my kids in the car, but I do turn it off when thee are other kids that aren't mine. Same with my music since we tend to listen to the Top 20 station.
> 
> ...


Hah! I notice that since NPR had its 40th anniversary, the beg-a-thons feature 20-something year old avid listeners who sheepishly admit that, yes, they grew up hearing NPR in the car, and were one of those kids who begged their parents to please turn NPR off, it's so boring, pleaaassee put the music on, but now they love NPR and listen all the time. I think NPR is probably pretty happy about that trend.


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

I treat it like anything else -- by listening to stuff I think is appropriate for my kids, and switching to something else if stuff comes on that I think they're not ready for. So yeah, we listen to some NPR in the car -- Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Car Talk, etc. are fine for kids, IMO, and I wouldn't change the channel if we had other kids in the car. Many episodes of Fresh Air are fine, but some aren't. I mostly download NPR stuff as podcasts and listen to it when I go for walks, so it's not much of an issue in the car, but I don't shy away from that station when kids are in the car.


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## frogautumn (May 24, 2007)

We love Car Talk, A Prairie Home Companion, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, This American Life, and RadioLab! We do mute the news headlines though. DS is only 4 and is definitely sensitive to that kind of information.


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## happy*mama (Sep 21, 2008)

I used to be addicted to NPR. I started listening when I was a teenager and am 35 now. I listened from early am to late night most days. When I worked from home I listened all day. But after ds was born two years ago I decided to filter what I listen to around him. Babies and young children are in a sensitive period of learning and I want to keep war, murders, and other upsetting news at bay until he is old enough handle it. I do not know when that will be, but I'm sure it will be apparent when the time is right. My son listens very carefully to everything and right now he asks "what's that woman/man saying" when I listen or he says "no don't like it" so I generally don't listen to it around him. I have turned on Prairie Home Companion a few times and he has tolerated it somewhat. I miss my shows and the routine of listen and knowing that when a certain show ended that I would be doing xxx at that time. Now we listen to lots of music, but really things are much more quiet around our house and it is rather nice to have some peace. We always have music on in the car though. We don't listen to radio for music generally, once in a while the college radio station, or on the rare occasion that we are in the car during an NPR music show, otherwise it's children's music and I am happy with that for now. Planning to branch out a bit more in the music arena for ds though. I think as he becomes older we will listen to NPR more for the educational aspects as well as the entertainment. DH still gets to listen to NPR on his commute.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

i notice a lot of shows you guys are mentioning are sunday shows.

we are rarely home on sundays and not listening to the radio for sure.

dd's fav. is ira flataw (sp?) of science friday.

she doesnt really enjoy any of the shows you mentioned - neither car talk, american life or even prairiie home companion. she is a jeapordy fan but not a question answer show on NPR. i guess that's one of the reasons why we have no radio on sunday. i enjoy car talk and she enjoys some portions of it - but not all.

what was funny was when she was sensitive that's when we hardly listened to npr. but as she grew older she started paying attention to the content. there have been many poignant shows that really catches dd's fancy. one of our favourite that we stayed in the car for an hour at a grocery store to listen to was an interview with the author of a serious of unfortunate events.

she also followed the case of a muslim american family during the 9/11 time and was really saddened by it. or the piece on how loud our environment is.

one of our favourite things to do this summer was to get our dinners and the radio and go perch on the roof of the house and eat and listen to the radio there. there is a poetry hour at our local college hour. listening to a book on tape is harder for us without a car. its really hard to concentrate.


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## rubidoux (Aug 22, 2003)

Oh wow! Milo would love to hear that Lemony Snicket interview. I think he only has one more book to go in the serious and it has been one of our favorites.

Dinner and NPR on the roof sounds really nice.


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## carfreemama (Jun 13, 2007)

Just wanted to chime in here with a note that many posters say they figure their children will tell them if something on the news upsets them, or if they don't like what they hear. That they will ask questions. That's probably true for people in this forum, who are fostering an atmosphere of open communication with their children. However, I don't think it's necessarily true that children will ask about what they fear. I certainly didn't. I first heard about nuclear weapons on the news when I was about 8, during the Cold War. I was far too terrified to ask questions or talk about it at all and was deeply traumatized. Mind you, this was long before Internet and what not; so 8 is probably actually pretty old by current standards. Because of my experiences, though, I did shield dd a lot from this kind of stuff until recently; mostly until I felt as sure as I could be that she WOULD come to me if she heard something that upset her and we'd been able to have lots of practice and talks about how she can tell me anything. Not sure what my point is, just wanted to put that out there. I listen to CBC and the local university radio station all the time. And there are newspapers everywhere for DD to read. I guess the "age of innocence" is pretty much over here, if there ever was one...


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## coffeegirl (Jan 1, 2008)

According to the NPR demographics link posted up-thread, "The public radio audience is set apart by its high degree of educational and professional attainment." See, I didn't know this. My family is kinda poor at the moment. Now I wonder if it's even ok for us to listen to NPR in good conscience?


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## arb (Mar 14, 2006)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *hildare* i don't filter/censor, i think kids tend to tune out stuff they don't understand.


That hasn't been the case with our kid, which shows that there's a really wide range. [Also, some kids are mullers-over, and will stew on a confusing or frightening piece of news in silence.] Our kid, we have found out the hard way, hears *everything.* Sol yes, we listen to NPR, but the volume goes down ASAP when a war, murder, or other violent story comes on.


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## philomom (Sep 12, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *coffeegirl*
> 
> According to the NPR demographics link posted up-thread, "The public radio audience is set apart by its high degree of educational and professional attainment." See, I didn't know this. My family is kinda poor at the moment. Now I wonder if it's even ok for us to listen to NPR in good conscience?


Umm, why? I like that my kids are hearing big words and hearing folks tackling big issues. We must all challenge ourselves to be the best we can be.. I feel NPR helps me on that path.

Here's the rest of the demographics page.
http://www.wqub.org/media/NPR%20Profile%20stats%202009/NPR%20demographics.pdf


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## journeymom (Apr 2, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *coffeegirl*
> 
> According to the NPR demographics link posted up-thread, "The public radio audience is set apart by its high degree of educational and professional attainment." See, I didn't know this. My family is kinda poor at the moment. Now I wonder if it's even ok for us to listen to NPR in good conscience?


Nope, you have to stop listening to NPR right away.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

so?!!!! It is true what was written earlier. no one here is implying u have to be that to listen to NPR. the people who donate to NPR mostly do fall in that category. and high prof. attainment does not mean you will be there all the time. you could be making a 100,000 one year and the next year be out on the street.

dunno. i dont find NPR a snooty radio show. its sad there really is nothing else other than npr. however i do find NPR a cultural exclusive show. which is how most things are in the world. they cover very little of other perspective than the usual 'white' perspective. i would love NPR to be more diverse, as much as i would like the same of BBC. not just with 'newscasters of colour' but from the community itself. there is hardly any non white program on NPR and that is sad. and if there is mostly (not always) its v. stereotypical. blacks and violence or teen moms. hispanics and gangs. and the list goes on. the few non white programs that i have listened to have been done extremely well.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *coffeegirl*
> 
> According to the NPR demographics link posted up-thread, "The public radio audience is set apart by its high degree of educational and professional attainment." See, I didn't know this. My family is kinda poor at the moment. Now I wonder if it's even ok for us to listen to NPR in good conscience?


RUBIDOX - your son might enjoy this with Daniel Handler. But i heard a better interview than this one i think 2 or 3 years ago. he just rocked and i immediately fell in love with his witticism http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4212818

CARFREEMAMA - you know something i find interesting. i find dd handles news over NPR much better than any other news station. i feel BBC and NPR do their news reporting without too much fear mongering. i have noticed with my dd - the way the news is presented affects her. The Cold war, the Russians are coming were i feel horrible times. i remember my cousins here freaking out. i didnt grow up here. because of the way media presented the cold war and the drills one did in school the fear was very alive for them.


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## rubidoux (Aug 22, 2003)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *journeymom*
> 
> Nope, you have to stop listening to NPR right away.


lol I kinda thought the demographics page was a little off-putting even though I'm pretty squarely within it -- except I'm younger! But the high education/professional status stuff made me wince. I am not from a family with high educ/prof status and I don't feel very identified with it myself. I am a high school drop out with a law degree, but I feel more hs drop out than lawyer most days. So I can certainly see why it would rub somebody wrong. Otoh, they obviously aren't telling us who can listen but who does listen.

I cannot rely on my son to ask if he's worried about something. I didn't know that for a long time, though I did realize it by the time we started listening to the news together. I thought he was never scared of anything, he never showed it! Until he couldn't stand it any more.  I was so bummed that I hadn't addressed the stuff he was worried about as it was happening. But I think he's more likely to talk to me about a news story he's worried about, he has done that, and I often will bring stuff up with him if it seems potentially bothersome. I'm always there with him when he's listening. I'm sure I miss things, but I try both to address stuff and to make him feel comfortable asking.


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## journeymom (Apr 2, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rubidoux*
> 
> lol I kinda thought the demographics page was a little off-putting even though I'm pretty squarely within it -- except I'm younger! But the high education/professional status stuff made me wince. I am not from a family with high educ/prof status and I don't feel very identified with it myself. I am a high school drop out with a law degree, but I feel more hs drop out than lawyer most days. So I can certainly see why it would rub somebody wrong. Otoh, they obviously aren't telling us who can listen but who does listen.


My dh has an AA in electronics from a for-profit college, I never finished college. We consider ourselves well 'educated'. Education comes in multiple modes.









Also, that profile tells us who bothered to answer NPR's request for personal information. It may be that the profile of listeners who don't provide personal information is slightly different. (Probably not.)


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## AndtheStars (Mar 25, 2009)

I love NPR and have it on in the car about 75% of the time when DS and I are cruising around. He doesn't really pay attention, as far as I can tell, because he's always trying to talk to me about stuff he sees out the window and asking me to turn it off. So I guess we listen to it in the car about 15% of the time







I remember my parents having it on every night while cooking dinner and the All Things Considered 'theme song' still makes me think about being little in the kitchen with my parents.


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## amberskyfire (Sep 15, 2007)

We listen to NPR every day and DD (3) listens as well. We didn't think she was paying attention until she started asking a lot of questions about what she was hearing lately and asking about some of the words she heard. Now she starts discussions about what we hear on the radio. It's kind of bizarre talking about politics and news with a toddler, but it's probably good for her. I don't usually turn it off, but a couple of weeks ago, there was a news story about something that I thought was extremely graphic and disturbing, so we turned it down for that. I can't remember what it was, probably something involving rape. Normally, we just leave it on, even if it's not exactly child-friendly.

And I had to LOL at that demographic. The ONLY part we fit is "Caucasian." DH never went to college and I never finished. We have a child and another on the way. We live well below the poverty line and can't afford rent so we live in an abandoned house (much nicer than it actually sounds, I promise!) and we live out in the country. We can't even see our neighbors.

But no, I see no problem with NPR in general. Our favorite shows are on Saturday when A Prairie Home Companion comes on followed by Thistle and Shamrock and then Fascinatin' Rhythms. We gather around the kitchen on Saturdays to listen (we don't have a TV, so not a lot in the way of entertainment) and DD and I dance to the music. So fun!


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## ZippyGirl (Aug 12, 2006)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Melaniee*
> 
> I do not. There are too many things on there I wouldn't want Dc (ages 6 and 9) to hear or know about. I'd definitely be upset if Dc were in another car and newstories and things were on. However listening to anything on the radio in the car is generally frowned upon at our school so I'm not overly concerned about it on field trips. And at age 9 the stuff the kids come up with on their own is frightening enough!


I still have yet to read all of the posts, but I agree with the above poster. I love NPR, I'm an NPR addict, but I have to find other times to listen to it. I often listen to it online after DD is asleep or when she is in school.

I never listen to NPR news in the car with her (although she has heard Car Talk and Wait, Wait a few times). We listen to the classical music on NPR, but as soon as the news comes on, the radio goes off, no questions asked. I would be very upset if someone drove DD around and listened to NPR (or any other news radio). Without a doubt, most news coverage is disturbing and upsetting to me, let alone to a young child. She will encounter enough of that stuff later in life (that's a guarantee), and we have many, many years ahead of us for interesting discussions on world events. For now, I'll keep the global mess away from her.


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## Jenga (Sep 24, 2011)

Sure.

I also let them listen to Dr. Laura at home, but I am bothered by some of the language she uses now that she's off syndicated radio.


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## rubidoux (Aug 22, 2003)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jenga*
> 
> Sure. I also let them listen to Dr. Laura at home, but I am bothered by some of the language she uses now that she's off syndicated radio.


Do you mean the "n..." word??? Yeah, I'd say that's out of my comfort zone, especially for my kids to hear.


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## happy*mama (Sep 21, 2008)

This is me exactly ZippyGirl









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ZippyGirl*
> 
> I love NPR, I'm an NPR addict, but I have to find other times to listen to it. I often listen to it online after DD is asleep or when she is in school.
> 
> I never listen to NPR news in the car with her (although she has heard Car Talk and Wait, Wait a few times). We listen to the classical music on NPR, but as soon as the news comes on, the radio goes off, no questions asked. I would be very upset if someone drove DD around and listened to NPR (or any other news radio). Without a doubt, most news coverage is disturbing and upsetting to me, let alone to a young child. She will encounter enough of that stuff later in life (that's a guarantee), and we have many, many years ahead of us for interesting discussions on world events. For now, I'll keep the global mess away from her.


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## MissAnthrope (Jan 31, 2011)

While I agree it would be better for everyone if there were no news stories of violence, sexual or otherwise, to report, that is not the world we live in.

We prepare our children for the possibility that someone might attempt to abduct them, that their house might burn down in the night, or that a trusted adult might become sexually violent toward them--- they need to understand that those things happen so that they can protect themselves, as upsetting as we might find the idea of our children coming to that sort of harm. Similarly, children need to have some rudimentary grasp of global issues, including the unpleasant ones, so that they can protect their global community. As parents, we have a responsibility to provide our children with information about real life and the tools they need to be successful in it.


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## LynnS6 (Mar 30, 2005)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MissAnthrope*
> 
> While I agree it would be better for everyone if there were no news stories of violence, sexual or otherwise, to report, that is not the world we live in.
> 
> We prepare our children for the possibility that someone might attempt to abduct them, that their house might burn down in the night, or that a trusted adult might become sexually violent toward them--- they need to understand that those things happen so that they can protect themselves, as upsetting as we might find the idea of our children coming to that sort of harm. Similarly, children need to have some rudimentary grasp of global issues, including the unpleasant ones, so that they can protect their global community. As parents, we have a responsibility to provide our children with information about real life and the tools they need to be successful in it.


I would argue strongly that they do *not* need this knowledge at age 3 or age 7 or maybe even older. As they become older and more able to put events in perspective certainly. But I'd argue that's not until they're somewhere between 10-15, depending on the child. At 10 our son is pretty rational, but there are still evils of the world that I don't want to expose him to.

Developmentally, 6-7-8 year olds are fearful because they have no way to put bad things into perspective. Our dd (age 7) is afraid to go out right now when it's raining because there might be a tornado. Never mind that the region we live in has something like 1 tornado every 10 years! She's learning about the world, but hasn't figured out probabilities or the likelihood of something like this happening to her. She doesn't like talking about space because that reminds her of the universe, which makes her think about the fact that the sun will nova someday, which will bring about the end of Earth. Never mind that we'll all be long dead when this happens! This is NOT a child who should be listening to NPR.

I would argue that fear-mongering news shows do the same thing for adults. More people are struck by lightening than there are abducted by strangers every year. Yet, we, as a culture, are so afraid of abduction that kids aren't allowed to play outside without supervision. (NPR is pretty good in this way, but it's still much more about death and destruction than my kids can handle.)

I think there's also a risk of desensitizing people to the issues if they're talked about too much and when kids are too young. I'd rather delay the introduction of these big topics until my children are cognitively and emotionally ready to handle them. that way they won't shut out all these issues because they'll have a perspective of what they can do and what is out of their control. I think that exposing children to unpleasant ideas that they have no control over is a really bad idea. It promotes anxiety and fear. We, as adults, can build a healthy relationship with our kids so they can come to us with issues, and we can shield them to protect them from information, just like we shield them to protect them from other harm.


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## Bearsmom (Nov 14, 2007)

I love npr and would listen to it all the time but with at two very active and loud boys I can hardly hear the radio (at home or in the car). I'm jealous of everyone out there who has the choice to listen or not to listen.









FWIW, 41, toyota minivan


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## Melaniee (Apr 15, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *LynnS6*
> 
> I would argue strongly that they do *not* need this knowledge at age 3 or age 7 or maybe even older. As they become older and more able to put events in perspective certainly. But I'd argue that's not until they're somewhere between 10-15, depending on the child. At 10 our son is pretty rational, but there are still evils of the world that I don't want to expose him to.
> 
> ...


Here! Here! I was beginning to feel very alone. I cannot count the number of things I learned about too young in my childhood, from television, that left me so fearful it negatively impacted my life. And since you mentioned, one was a newstory about a 'death star' or something that was discovered to be heading to Earth and could destroy life and something similiar was potentially the cause of the demise of the Dinosaurs (or something along those lines, this was decades ago). I was so scared! Then there was the year of the Nightstalker - OMG. My parents were actually angry with me for not wanting to sleep with the window open in the summertime. Well perhaps then don't let your single-digit child watch the news about a Serial Killer on the loose. Seriously - there was NO benefit to my knowing about this, it just scared the daylights out of me for months on end.

My very young children weren't out of my sight - they did not need to be filled with fear about 'stranger danger.' As they got older and might start to ride their bicycle around the block *I* taught them "It's okay to say hello to someone friendly, but that is it. You don't stop to talk." I kept an eye on them and watched for their return from their short independent journey. Developmentally there is a time and a place and I don't agree with what seems to be, in our culture, a rush to teach them all about the world by age 7.

Anyway, I was coming to this thread to share my story from today. I finally was able to ride in the car alone and enjoy some NPR for about an hour in two different spurts. Originally I'd thought to keep track of what I heard in the first half hour, to share a run-down of the Worldly information given, as I think out of context and in list form, it might have more of an impact to better illustrate what I am feeling. However, instead I am going to share what I heard later, in the second half hour: There was an interesting interview with an Artist and the Curator of his new exhibit. I wasn't familiar with the man's work, but the discussions of the pieces was interesting to me (thought honestly may have been boring for a younger child, but IMHO, harmless). They discussed the timespan of his work, the selections chosen for the show, other installations and the impact they've had on people and something I'd never considered - the role of the Curator in a show. I immediately thought of this thread and how so many liked to share "educational" things like this from NPR with their children. I won't say I was contemplating changing my mind on the issue, but my mind did go to this discussion. Then without any warning, the host asked him how his role and witness of 9/11 affected his work. The man spoke briefly about how he literally was there and watched both planes crash into the towers, how he saw people hold hands five-across and jump off the buildings, that he watched some try to make ropes out of sheets and fabric to climb out of the windows and how he saw people "try to fly." He talked about how for weeks afterwards the dust outside of his studio was made up of the victims of 9/11. My heart breaks for all the little children who were listening this morning to the wonderful interview with this artist. My children do not need to hear such things. Knowing about 9/11 isn't going to help keep my 6 year old safe.


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## rubidoux (Aug 22, 2003)

I actually haven't talked to my 8 year old who listens intently to NPR daily about "stranger danger" almost at all. When he was five we pulled up to a knitting store where I needed to go in and grab one hank of yarn, it was a strip mall set up where I was able to park right in front of the huge front window and would have been able to see him the whole time. He begged me to let him wait in the car, but of course, I thought, he's five, I don't feel comfortable with it. When he asked why I thought "someone could take him," but I made up some other reason, maybe I told him it was against the law or something -- it probably is, right? Anyhow I just could not bear the idea of him worrying about someone trying to hurt him or take him or anything like that. Unfortunately a few months later his little six year old friend told him that "sometimes people grab children and run off with them and kill them." I still want to throw up thinking about that. It led to one of our only talks about reasonable fear of strangers -- emphasis on reasonable.

But even though I can think of several things I would not have chosen for him to hear on NPR, I cannot think of any that actually seemed harmful to him. We didn't hear that story about the artist, and that probably would have made me feel pretty uncomfortable. Otoh, so much of what you hear on the news is desensitizing and impersonal and that story sounds like it laid bare some real human costs. I would have felt uncomfortable for sure, but I don't know that it would have been all bad or even bad at all for him to hear it. I am sure it would have made him feel sad and have other difficult feelings, but I do think he's at an age that he's starting to learn things when I'm not around and I feel like even though I don't know what they're going to say next from minute to minute on the radio, it is a controlled environment. I am there to talk about it and help him through it.

If I were given the choice, I'd much rather hear a story about some stranger danger thing with him than have some other kid tell him what they think their parents told them when I'm not around. In fact there was a horrible story that was talked about quite a bit here about a teenage girl being abducted and killed maybe 20 or 30 miles from here. When it came on it made me wince for sure, but I do think it was okay for him to hear it. Bad things do happen and I wouldn't want to dump it on a young kid all at once or anything, but it feels pretty natural for it to come out in bits and pieces as it's actually happening out there. I wouldn't feel comfortable with keeping it all from him and allowing him to how an unrealistic vision of the world. But I certainly see that it's a sticky issue without any clear right answers.

If I didn't feel like he was getting a lot of great stuff out of listening or if it seemed like he was being hurt by it or if he hated it, I probably wouldn't play it around him. But he loves listening and he's learned about a lot of stuff that I wouldn't even know about if we weren't listening together, and it's led to tons of interesting discussions. I also think it makes him feel more confident about his place in the world to know what's going on and be able to talk about it. I do think there are negatives, but I believe that for my kid it has been very positive on balance.


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## velochic (May 13, 2002)

Lynn, I would actually argue that your post over-simplifies and generalizes points that may or may not be applicable to different children and families. You say that 6-8 year olds are fearful because of their lack of understanding how to put things into perspective. This has not been my experience *at all*, so obviously it varies from child to child and family to family. My dd has never been fearful. Listening to NPR has spawned tons of REASONABLE discussion and real-life examples that we can talk through. Hearing these stories allows ME to put these life lessons into perspective based on what I know will be the best way to approach it for MY child. I don't want dd to learn about these things from a 3rd party. I want to be the one having these discussions with her. By listening to NPR, I've always been the one to talk *first* with her about the real world, and for that reason, she seeks me out to talk about things she now hears at school. I have an only, who is 9, so I'm not sure if she is the norm or not, but these stories have never made her fearful. They have made her sad. They have even made her more empathetic toward certain causes. They have not desensitized her, but they have given her real-world knowledge.

For example, we live very close to an international airport. On cloudy days, the planes sound like they are going to land right on top of our house. From an early age, dd knew about 9/11 and has even seen the pictures (including of people jumping). She knows what happened, yet the planes over our house have never even bothered her. She has had the reasoning for years that this was an isolated incident and that what happened there is not a tangible threat where WE live. In fact, isolating her from it would only have proved to be damaging because her world includes Islam and the last thing I want her to be exposed to is the opinions of others about it (which may or may not include serious religious bias).

So, I personally disagree that ALL young kids shouldn't be told about a reasonable amount of what is the very real world we live in. You have to determine that for your own child. If you have a child that do not have the cognitive ability or emotional maturity to reason these things through then of course you do what is best for them. I would argue that not talking about these things give others the chance to do so first, though. From whom do you want them to hear about these things? For us, I wanted it to be one of the parents and not friends or teachers or neighbors. Our philosophy is that if dd can comprehend the issue at hand, she is old enough to explore it. This hasn't failed us yet, but of course what works for our kid may not for others. A generalized statement doesn't apply to her and I'm sure it doesn't to many other kids.

ETA: And honestly, I've never heard a single "sensationalized" (ala Fox News or Rush Limbaugh) story on NPR. They are a tame news source compared to what is available out there and seem to be as factual and fair as possible. As an early introduction to news, I think NPR is awesome.


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## hildare (Jul 6, 2009)

.... totally threadjacking for a brief moment, but did you know: more kids die in the US from circumcision-related issues than from being murdered/kidnapped by strangers? This came up in a conversation I was having about the whole "stranger danger" thing the other day, and I had happened to be researching circ stats at the same time. and yet.... (sorry for the interruption, i just really thought it was an interesting point about what we fear and what we choose to emphasize as something to fear, spend time worrying about, etc.)

so, no, personally, i am not real big on "stranger danger." i think it's a myth designed & perpetuated to keep us fearful, distrustful, and suspicious.

and because i know someone will ask, here's a website that cites a paper with the stat of 117 deaths from circ related problems annually in the US (i operate on the assumption of the citation to be correct, have seen that figure elsewhere too)

vs. this stat on murdered missing kids per year, about 100.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

hildare its funny you bring that up. i actually heard that on NPR last year.  and that statistic has stayed with me.









Velochic thank you for your post. i was trying to reply to Lynn's but i could not do it as eloquently as you have done it.

that is the same with us. again dd is an only but our family since she was 4 included other people (roommates or family). since we are active in many areas dd has been a part of the conversation and has taken part in many marches/protests. and yes those things makes dd sad. very sad. but not fearful. gosh if anything sometimes its her books - fantasy that get her scared the reason why she has not read lemony snickett before.

actually in our case early knowledge has actually HELPED her. of issues. i find if she has the knowledge before she is emotionally ready - when she IS emotionally ready she is not as deeply affected as she would have been. for instance death at 2/3. she asked i answered. she was sad for a bit and then she was ok. if i had to introduce death at anytime from 5 the news would have been devastating for her.

the one key point that makes a huge difference is the absense of fear mongering and sensationalisation on NPR. they say as it is. the other key factors is when they do news reports they do personal stories. same with BBC. dd has known about 9/11 from whenever she was aware of the world. i am not sure how it happened but she has known it. what she gets from it (she wouldnt have any problems with the news story) is the human story - that people hurt even today. this year she heard a report from one of the widows.

if anything being aware of human pain earlier has given her a more 'understanding' or sympathising view of the human race. where she truly applies it is to bullies and actually wonders what is going on in their life to make them who they are. she gets things at a deeper level i feel because she has been aware of human suffering and not been sheltered.

of course just coz the radio is on doesnt mean she is listening to them. i remember this author talking about where he grew up and how it affected his writing. dd was 7 or 8 i think. and she listened fascinated that places like that exist in the world. it was the new york bronx in a place full of guns, needles and prostitutes. dd has been watching short films on pangea. she is so deeply affected by them. like the one on beirut and how it was before the fighting began.

i think as an adult she first gets what is news and what is not. how to read between the lines. and how to have her own voice instead of relying on how others interpret the news for you.

and the part that i am glad about is when dd ever brings up something from the news with her friends - she is accurate and correct and gives the right information. if friends bring up sensational parts of the news dd brings up facts.


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## journeymom (Apr 2, 2002)

Quote:


> Bad things do happen and I wouldn't want to dump it on a young kid all at once or anything, but it feels pretty natural for it to come out in bits and pieces as it's actually happening out there. I wouldn't feel comfortable with keeping it all from him and allowing him to how an unrealistic vision of the world.


I agree with this. I learned about Holocaust atrocities from a PBS history series when I was maybe 6 y.o. There were some truly horrible images there, and I am surprised my parents let me see it. But it didn't scar me. It introduced the whole idea to me at a time when I just wasn't sophisticated enough to get the full scope of it. As I grew I gradually assimilated more.

Quote:


> so, no, personally, i am not real big on "stranger danger." i think it's a myth designed & perpetuated to keep us fearful, distrustful, and suspicious.


This is one of the sadder developments of the late 20th century. The news media discovered that people are riveted to their TVs by death and mayhem stories, which therefore keeps viewers around for the advertisements. Hence TV news frequently leads with the juiciest criminal/destructive event of the day, no matter how irrelevant it really is. And this just led to the routine of keeping it all in your face, all the time, most recent example is the Kaylee/Kaycee Anthony case. Holy cow, was that ever inflated. Anyway, I despise the tone they use to present this kind of news, along with drama-filled music meant to manipulate our feelings. I really dislike when the news media tries to manipulate my emotional reactions.


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## emilysometimes (Apr 18, 2008)

I'm 40 years old, the same age as NPR itself, and my mother listened to NPR around me the whole time I was growing up. I have always listened to NPR and still do around my three year-old. How many three year-olds out there bring up Libya in casual conversation? Mine does.  I will continue to listen to NPR with her as she gets older, but I'll definitely turn the radio off or the volume down if something seems to be "too much" for her. I have to turn it off on my own account sometimes.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

I live in Los Angeles and drive a lot. And, yes, I am that other NPR listener the Prius driver. I have it on more or less all the time. I turn it low or off if the content is really off. Our local affiliate plays a lot of music though. I often stream there news station at home to listen to the BBC. My 2 year old doesn't notice except ot say NO MORE NEWS MUSIC. My four year old listens sometimes especially if a word catches his ear (sword, dead, chocolate).

As he gets old, I might expose him to the BBC radio or the News Hour on PBS.

The kids are media-free but as they get older, I would never expose them to commercial television news, if you can call it that. My father listens to Fox news constantly on his 400 inch tv LOUD and I now ask him to turn it off. It is so filled with hate. Regular news is just death, tragedy, mayhem, and scandel.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

Oh, and at 4 he knows that you need to support your local radio station with money and time and also that the fund drive makes everyone in our house cranky.

Funny: we have a great local food program that I really want to listen to but always get interrruped. We now podcast and have to listen to it a few times to hear everything. We usually talk about the market report for what is in season and a few times when he saw those things at the farmer's market he referenced it...

Not so funny: I probably wouldn't notice if I wasn't with my kids but I do think they air too much "language" from guests and others. Seriously, bleep it out.


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## emilysometimes (Apr 18, 2008)

Pledge drives make us all cranky, too.  Don't come between my family and our "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!"


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## faroutmomma (Oct 13, 2011)

While NPR fully rocks- and I've been listening to it since I was pre-teen aged at least- I do not often listen to it around my child, who is three.

I did, until the past six months or so, when she became very focused on listening and picking things up. There are often segments or mentionings about rape, murder, death, etc.- and she totally picks up on it and wants to talk about it. At three, I just don't find it neccessary to clutter her mind with more very serious questions/concerns than "real life" already presents.

I do turn it on once in a while for their regular segments, if they're boring enough for her 

(Also: I read an amazing book called "Simplicity Parenting", and the author talks a lot about limiting children's exposure to adult stresses. I kind of agree.)


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## ZippyGirl (Aug 12, 2006)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *velochic* From an early age, dd knew about 9/11 and has even seen the pictures (including of people jumping). She knows what happened, yet the planes over our house have never even bothered her.


As I said earlier, I LOVE NPR, but...

Of course, it's totally a personal choice and my child is much younger than some of yours (I haven't traveled the path yet with an older child), but I must say that I am so glad my parents never, ever allowed me to watch images of such violence, despair, and desperation as people jumping out of the WTC towers when I was young. We got rid of TV ten years ago (long before we had children) after 9/11 because we found the images of 9/11 too disturbing. I live outside of NYC, my husband works in Manhattan in a building that was the target of anthrax attacks, he lost a colleague on 9/11, and a family member barely escaped the towers. Believe me, I do not need to see the images of 9/11 to know that our world has threats. My child does not need to hear news, see images of war and destruction, etc., etc., to know that all the world is not 100% safe. "It's in the air" as her teacher likes to say.

I also don't think that young children need to see or hear about violence, hunger, eco-disaster, etc. to become more devoted to causes of peace, environmentalism, and compassion. In fact, I think it's the exact opposite. Call me simple, but the more love, peace, and compassion our children experience, the more a part of their being it will become and the more determined they will be to preserve it and bring it to others. I think media undermines this. The stronger they feel in this foundation, the better they will be able to cope if the ugly side of life presents itself.

Finally, I get a little uncomfortable when people bring up the argument that news is okay because their child says it doesn't bother them. We are older, bigger people than they are, and children love us and have a strong desire to please us. Are they trying to make us happy, to seek our approval when they say they are okay with listening to what mom wants to listen to?

Sorry to disagree and sorry for the ramble, but I just have to put in my two cents!


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## Melaniee (Apr 15, 2002)

Quote:



> Originally Posted by *JudiAU*
> 
> I live in Los Angeles and drive a lot. And, yes, I am that other NPR listener the Prius driver. I have it on more or less all the time. I turn it low or off if the content is really off. Our local affiliate plays a lot of music though. I often stream there news station at home to listen to the BBC. *My 2 year old doesn't notice except ot say NO MORE NEWS MUSIC. My four year old listens sometimes especially if a word catches his ear (sword, dead, chocolate).*
> 
> ...


If your kids listen to the radio, they're not media-free. Perhaps you meant TV-free? Or you don't do screentime? But Radio is media.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ZippyGirl*
> 
> I also don't think that young children need to see or hear about violence, hunger, eco-disaster, etc. to become more devoted to causes of peace, environmentalism, and compassion. In fact, I think it's the exact opposite. Call me simple, but the more love, peace, and compassion our children experience, the more a part of their being it will become and the more determined they will be to preserve it and bring it to others. I think media undermines this. The stronger they feel in this foundation, the better they will be able to cope if the ugly side of life presents itself.


I do not think you are simple at all. ITA. I think the more we expose our children to violence, they less sensitive they are to it - and is that what we want?


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## rubidoux (Aug 22, 2003)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ZippyGirl*
> 
> I also don't think that young children need to see or hear about violence, hunger, eco-disaster, etc. to become more devoted to causes of peace, environmentalism, and compassion. In fact, I think it's the exact opposite. Call me simple, but the more love, peace, and compassion our children experience, the more a part of their being it will become and the more determined they will be to preserve it and bring it to others. I think media undermines this. The stronger they feel in this foundation, the better they will be able to cope if the ugly side of life presents itself.
> 
> Finally, I get a little uncomfortable when people bring up the argument that news is okay because their child says it doesn't bother them. We are older, bigger people than they are, and children love us and have a strong desire to please us. Are they trying to make us happy, to seek our approval when they say they are okay with listening to what mom wants to listen to?


I don't think there's any way to know, short of doing some pretty sophisticated controlled studies, whether people become more compassionate and peaceful when they are exposed to those things or when they aren't. And it doesn't ring true for me. I am a pretty seriously compassionate and peaceful person (if I may say so myself, lol) and I think, in me, that came from seeing some very terrible things, some that I saw first hand and some not. And when I was working with death row inmates in Alabama a few years back, some pretty traumatic things I had seen earlier (working with a couple of children who lived in an abandoned building with no heat, elec, etc in Chicago and were home alone with their four month old brother when he died) were an important backdrop for me and without them I don't know that I would have felt as strongly as I did for my clients. When I was working with those kids it was very easy for me to see how limited their futures were and what a different road it would be from there to prison than from a "normal" middle class family to prison. If I had not known them I wouldn't have known that in such a visceral way and if I didn't even know that those sorts of things existed, why would I have any compassion at all for those men on death row? I suppose it's possible that I would have felt compassion for them based on some sort of principle, but I doubt that would have touched me the same way or made me as effective in my job.

I also think it is super important to teach our children (although I am not saying it has to be at 3 or anything) about things like the Holocaust. It cannot be something that they learn in college or somewhere. It should be something they grow up knowing about. If we forget about it and stop teaching our children about it, I really think that leaves more of an opening for that sort of thing to happen again.

I have no doubt that my child hears things that bother him, but I think that's okay. Some of the things I hear bother me too, but that is not a reason for me to stop listening.


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## happy*mama (Sep 21, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *faroutmomma*
> 
> (Also: I read an amazing book called "Simplicity Parenting", and the author talks a lot about* limiting children's exposure to adult stresses*. I kind of agree.)


I read Simplicity Parenting recently and completely agree with limiting adult stresses in children's lives. They have plenty to think about and to discover without worrying or becoming paranoid over stressful and scary things. Things that may not seem scary to us can be very stressful and scary to children. The younger they are the more this is likely because they do not have a full understanding of cause and effect, nor do they always understand why they are upset, but that they are upset and need comfort. I'm 35 and get stressed about things I hear on NPR and need to turn it off at times. (I rarely listen since my 2 year old was born though, and never any news when he is around).



> Originally Posted by *Melaniee*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> ...


Yes, radio qualifies as media. My child is screen free, but not media free as he listens to the radio occasionally and we do have newspapers and magazines.

Yes, children become desensitized to violence (or anything else) if they are overexposed to it. We are adults and therefore have (at least most of us have) been overly exposed to things that we no longer feel fear or saddness about.

Simplicity Parenting does address these (and other) parenting issues.


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## NinasMommy (Aug 9, 2011)

it's so cool that you asked this question - i've been asking myself the same thing!

my baby's only 8 months old, so i guess there's not a lot to worry about yet, but she's very smart, and i think she'll start saying words soon...

of course it all brings up the subject of when are kids ready to learn about the scarier, darker aspects of life... i've kind of been thinking it'll just happen when it happens, or when it comes up. i read a story in a local family publication about a lady who got her 3 year old daughter some goldfish cause the girl was sick, but the gold fish died, and then the woman put herself through so much of a rigamarole and hassle just to hide the fact of the fishies' death from her daughter... it was kind of disappointing.

not that i want to expose my kid to negativity but it's kind of silly to not be honest and forthcoming about the facts of life. but then again, i don't know... maybe she was right to protect a 3 year old from "death" because a kid that age couldn't handle it? or maybe wouldn't even be able to understand?

i don't really fit the NPR demographic... i'm 33, mostly "white", female, don't have a "job", am not exactly "career-oriented" in the traditional sense, did finish college, live with my partner and our child in an urban setting... i listen to npr whenever i can, but have been finding sometimes the only time i can is first thing in the morning, and it's just a bit intense to hear all the craziness of the world first thing.

i love writer's almanac and prairie home companion, and other talk shows.

i've listened to npr since i was in high school or college, but in the past few years started feeling like it was pretty geared towards a certain demographic, and also feel that they're not totally unbiased or unskewed, and tend to miss out on some pretty important stuff going on sometimes.

still, it's a much less annoying source of news than say, oh, Fox, for example, hahaha.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *happy*mama*
> 
> I read Simplicity Parenting recently and completely agree with limiting adult stresses in children's lives. They have plenty to think about and to discover without worrying or becoming paranoid over stressful and scary things. Things that may not seem scary to us can be very stressful and scary to children. The younger they are the more this is likely because they do not have a full understanding of cause and effect, nor do they always understand why they are upset, but that they are upset and need comfort. I'm 35 and get stressed about things I hear on NPR and need to turn it off at times. (I rarely listen since my 2 year old was born though, and never any news when he is around).
> 
> Yes, radio qualifies as media. My child is screen free, but not media free as he listens to the radio occasionally and we do have newspapers and magazines.


all this is so subjective. not all children are like that. and that is the part we have to acknowledge. my dd is far more upset that her father and i don't get along, that a group of boys are bullying her best friend. anything else is so not that important. it is us as parents who have to decide what is best for our children. not others telling us how we should be bringing up our children (not saying that that is what you are doing). i recall asking my mom so many questions about things i heard. and she would keep telling me i was too young. so i would try and find out from others. and i'd get all convoluted answers.

my dd is the kind for whom 'too early' is so ideal for her. if she hears about violence that's bad. but if she develops an interest in shakespeare oh that's great. *shrug* the radio is such a better medium to hear that than watching on tv. dd heard the word sexy from a song when she was 3. she knew it was not a term society approved of young people knowing so she first asked her 5 year friend and then came to me. i could have told her just like my mom but that would have made her seek the answer elsewhere.

at 3 was my dd listening to blood and gore? no she wasn't. she found NPR boring at that age and always asked to change that station till she was 5.

some children need to know. by 5 i could not 'shelter' my super curious child anymore coz she was getting exposed to stuff from elsewhere - like the news paper from passing the kiosk or even from the library, or passerby's discussion or the tv news from the store we had stopped at or the restaurant we were eating at. i'd rather she hear stuff around me and have me there to answer questions than elsewhere.

worse than news or NPR were books. dd didn't 'know' about monsters or worry about them till she 'discovered' them when her dc/ps read where the wild things are when she was 2. the pictures frightened her. other toddlers introduced her to other 'scary stuff' like a disease that kills you, machines that kill you. so really news is so not the only source children get info. some kids are oblivious to it. dd's bf's family also had NPR going in the kitchen all the time. he totally didn't pay any attention to it like dd did.

so i feel there is no one easy answer. one size fits all doesn't work either.

in our life - did my dd need to know? yes she did coz i was involved in activities around the stuff she 'shouldn't' hear. coz her friend in K lost his dad in the Iraq war and he wrote about his dad any chance he got in class. coz in first grade a friends parents were splitting up and it was going terribly with knives and the police involved and he was changing as a student and friend. coz another friend had to move in with her gma so they moved far away which reduced the number of play-dates we could have. all of this in first grade. she had to understand why her bf's family was so into stranger danger. why her bf refused to talk to strangers and even look at them. her brother had been kidnapped from her mothers arms for a v. short while thankfully.


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## MissAnthrope (Jan 31, 2011)

The original thread is about an 8 year old and his friends.

I absolutely agree that a three-year-old isn't ready for all the concepts discussed on the news.

Of course, every child is a unique being who will be prepared for different things at different ages. If you know that your child isn't ready for NPR at age 8, fine, but you should make this known to anyone who cares for your child when you aren't around, as I would assume that a child older than six would be ready to handle news reports. Personally, *I* don't listen to long features about the experiences of rape survivors and so forth unless I'm capable of giving the issue my full emotional and intellectual attention, and therefore it wouldn't be an issue for a child in my care, but again, the question was about listening to the news on NPR while driving with children.

And again, the impression that frightening images may have made upon children is not up for discussion. Images are a completely different issue--- I am still haunted by a set of images I saw in a Vietnam War documentary when I was 11. Knowing about the war in Afghanistan or the use of child soldiers in Cameroon is not the same as seeing real-life footage of people dying. They can't play images over the radio, and again, the question was about listening to NPR.

Sorry to have led anyone astray by not discussing the limitations of my previous post.


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## MJB (Nov 28, 2009)

We listen to NPR but the kids aren't interested; they usually have their noses in books in the car. I'm not worried about it, though, we talk about current events and politics a lot around here.


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## hildare (Jul 6, 2009)

I think we all have a wide degree of standards for media exposure of all kinds here on mdc.

for us, we're tv free, very limited screen time, but we're very pro- news, pro- exposure of our kids to the real world. i wouldn't dream of "protecting" my kid from the stuff that goes on that is reported on npr. but then again, we don't lie to our kid or pretend like there's a santa claus, tooth fairy, etc.

we also have a very non traditional perspective and try very hard to raise our kids according to our ethics (which are very analytical and anarchist).

but the conversation that some folks are having about it being harmful to expose kids to media, i kind of disagree with, professionally, and as a parent.

it's totally cool if you feel that your kid is sensitive, and you limit exposure to things you know will unsettle your kid, cause only a parent truly knows a child. however, to make a blanket assumption that kids can't and don't need to be TAUGHT how to critically navigate media and propaganda is both a fallacy and a disservice to the kid, just in my opinion.

There's so much technology, and media out there, and everyone, especially the youngsters, are bombarded with it. I really feel like teaching media literacy is one of the most important skills we can pass to our children... i really encourage some of you mamas to take a look at what that means exactly, and why it's so important. i am not saying that you have to expose your kid to blood and gore that they aren't ready for, but i think it's crucial that we teach kids exactly WHAT media is selling and how to ask relevant questions about what they see and hear-- even if you're tv free like we are, there are billboards and ads and stuff playing on other people's televisions so much that the question of them being exposed to stuff you don't agree with is pretty much answered by the outside world, unless you live on a rural compound somewhere that you never leave. and, the WHY you avoid it is better answered too-- i think it's important to share with kids why you're tv free if you are, etc.

here's one good website about media literacy...

something from pbs

and from U of MI


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## Melaniee (Apr 15, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rubidoux*
> 
> I also think it is super important to teach our children (although I am not saying it has to be at 3 or anything) about things like the Holocaust. It cannot be something that they learn in college or somewhere. * It should be something they grow up knowing about.* If we forget about it and stop teaching our children about it, I really think that leaves more of an opening for that sort of thing to happen again.


Why? And, FWIW, I do not disagree that 'children' (as in people under age 18) need to learn about the realities of our world, of which not all are pretty. But I think there's a lot of space between age 7 and 'off to college.'


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## rubidoux (Aug 22, 2003)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Melaniee*
> 
> Why? And, FWIW, I do not disagree that 'children' (as in people under age 18) need to learn about the realities of our world, of which not all are pretty. But I think there's a lot of space between age 7 and 'off to college.'


I'm not suggesting that there is a certain age it should be taught at, just that "off to college" feels too late to me. My eight year old knows very little about it. Interestingly he knows much more about the internment of the Japanese in this country during WWII than he knows about the Nazis and concentration camps. But that's because he knows someone who was interned. He knows the very basics, though, about the Holocaust and we've talked a little about the fact that there have been other genocides. I wouldn't feel comfortable with him reading The Diary of Anne Frank or something similar at this point, but I hope and assume that he will *long* before he's off to college.

I think it's very important that he and all young people learn about it because blindly trusting the government (any government) and patriotism for patriotism's sake (rather than pride in what is actually happening in your community and with your government) is very dangerous and knowing about various genocides and especially the Holocaust (we can identify more closely with everyone involved -- my husband is Jewish and though I don't know of an German ancestry, if I told you that I and my boys were German you wouldn't question it -- that we can with Rwandans or Bosnians or Armenians) will hopefully help our future voters/protesters/leaders avoid the pitfall of taking for granted that our gov't is good no matter what it looks like it's doing.

Hmmm... Okay, now that I look back at your post, I'm not sure what you're asking. Why what? Why should they grow up knowing? Because if they get age appropriate bits and pieces along the way, meet people who were involved or knew people who were involved (ie, his grandparents) or people who remember that time, read stories and memoirs, I think it leads to a whole different sort of understanding than being presented with it for the first time in a college class. I think the knowledge becomes more a part of who they are than just something they studied once.

Did I answer your Q?


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## LynnS6 (Mar 30, 2005)

Clearly not every child is going to be anxious and fearful after hearing NPR, but developmentally speaking, 7-8 is when many children begin to learn about dangers outside the house, and overreact because they don't have enough context to put them in. There's solid developmental literature to back this up. Obviously, some children will not react this way. Some will. Because of that, I think that for most children, NPR is iffy, precisely at this age. By 9-10, they've got more ability to take a perspective. Learning about probability (through baseball!) helped my son learn this. Dd is still working on it. I know that my children are far more sensitive than most.

I was reacting in particular to this post:

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MissAnthrope*
> We prepare our children for the possibility that someone might attempt to abduct them, that their house might burn down in the night, or that a trusted adult might become sexually violent toward them--- *they need to understand that those things happen so that they can protect themselves*, as upsetting as we might find the idea of our children coming to that sort of harm. Similarly, children need to have some rudimentary grasp of global issues, including the unpleasant ones, *so that they can protect their global community. * As parents, we have a responsibility to provide our children with information about real life and the tools they need to be successful in it.


I think it's harmful to expect an 8 year old to be able to protect themselves. It sounds to me like the first step in blaming the victim. I know it wasn't intended that way, but even if my 8 year old knows about these things, they still don't have the skills to protect themselves.

Similarly to expect them to protect their global community. Certainly, they can take part in family events to help out causes. For example, our dd knows that we have chosen to become a 1 car family, which means we need to bike to swim lessons or take public transit sometimes, in part because of global warming. My kids know there are such things as wars. We've talked about them. I'm not hiding the information from them, and we deal with it as it comes up. They know about alcoholism because of a neighbor. They know about the war in Iraq from other sources and hearing people talk. (It's been going on all their lives, so it's hard to miss.) If domestic violence, suicide, or abduction comes up, we'll talk.

What they do not need is to hear how many people were killed in Baghdad last week by a suicide bomber. There's been a horrific story in the local news lately because a sociopath (with white supremicist beliefs) and his girlfriend went on a 3 state killing spree. They 1. killed his father & stepmother, 2. killed a 19 year old they met at a jazz festival because his name 'sounded Jewish' and 3. killed an African American man. I am recycling those front pages as soon as I've read the editorials. My kids do not need to know about this. They can't understand it (heck, I can't understand it because the guy is clearly unhinged), and they can do nothing to protect themselves from something like this.

But until my 7 year old quits turning off the BBC when she comes in at night to sleep in our room ('because it's too scary'), NPR will be off. They're not living in a bubble, but I still think that 8 is an iffy age for NPR. I'd rather wait a couple of years. Waiting a couple of years isn't going to make them less compassionate or less thoughtful.


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## velochic (May 13, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rubidoux* Why should they grow up knowing? Because if they get age appropriate bits and pieces along the way, meet people who were involved or knew people who were involved (ie, his grandparents) or people who remember that time, read stories and memoirs, I think it leads to a whole different sort of understanding than being presented with it for the first time in a college class. I think the knowledge becomes more a part of who they are than just something they studied once.


I think this is a good point. If something is not age appropriate for their personal development, certainly don't expose your kids to it, but I think the mid-late teen years is a little late to start learning about some things. We're lucky that we receive 3 public radio stations. If something were too graphic, we could switch over to something else. If it's something I particularly want dd to listen to that I heard during the day, say a Fresh Air segment, I know I can listen to it later on another station with her on the way home from lessons and we get a chance to talk about it. Or if it's a piece I don't want her to hear (very rare that this would happen), I can listen to it at a different time on a different station or streaming at home. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, though. One of the things that I like about the NPR programs is that you are getting a lot of different perspectives, so they are not getting just one opinion. As I said, I think as far as news goes, it's a good introduction for kids. Each family has to determine when that appropriate introduction should take place, so it's not one-size-fits-all.


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## LROM (Sep 10, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *velochic*
> 
> I think this is a good point. If something is not age appropriate for their personal development, certainly don't expose your kids to it, but I think the mid-late teen years is a little late to start learning about some things. We're lucky that we receive 3 public radio stations. If something were too graphic, we could switch over to something else. If it's something I particularly want dd to listen to that I heard during the day, say a Fresh Air segment, I know I can listen to it later on another station with her on the way home from lessons and we get a chance to talk about it. Or if it's a piece I don't want her to hear (very rare that this would happen), I can listen to it at a different time on a different station or streaming at home. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, though. One of the things that I like about the NPR programs is that you are getting a lot of different perspectives, so they are not getting just one opinion. As I said, I think as far as news goes, it's a good introduction for kids. Each family has to determine when that appropriate introduction should take place, so it's not one-size-fits-all.


My DD is 2 and NPR is pretty much the only thing that's been on in the car since she was born (aside from a few kids music cd's that were key in calming her when she was an infant). Although she has yet to actually comment on a specific story she's heard on NPR (and I'm not even sure how much she's really paying attention to the radio because she's always talking over it to ask about what she's seeing out the window), she is absolutely already asking questions about things she sees in teh world and expressing concerns. One day we saw 2 homeless guys on 2 different street corners. She asked what they were doing, I said they were holding up signs that said they didn't have homes and asking for money. Her response: "Mommy, that's not good! That's not good! We need to get daddy's money and give them money!" [I was happy and amused she specified daddy's money for this one... LOL!]. Between the 2 guys that day ice cream came up and I said we'd go for ice cream. Then when we saw the 2nd guy and again she said we needed to get daddy's money to get them a home, I said "Well you know honey, we only have so much money. You have to make choices sometimes about what's more important. So what's more important to you: getting these guys a home or getting ice cream?" She didn't hesitate for a second "Getting them a house!"

That is all to say, that though she doesn't ask about NPR yet, I welcome when she hears a story about something, even something scary, and has questions about it. I am not going out of my way to expose her to scary stuff (we'd get cable t.v. if I wanted to do that!  ), but so far when something in her real life does scare her, I find it fantastic for her development for her to be able to ask about it, for us to process her fear, to talk about what can be done about the scary thing, and to encourage her to keep talking about it and to be able to reassure her when I can that some things are probably not going to happen to us (like angry robots or polar bears).

THe day willcome where she will listen and ask... and I welcome it whenever it comes. I am also excited to hear what she has to think about the stories on NPR! But if she ever asks me to turn something off, or says she doesn't want to hear something, of course I'll turn it off.


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## Melaniee (Apr 15, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rubidoux*
> 
> I'm not suggesting that there is a certain age it should be taught at, just that "off to college" feels too late to me. My eight year old knows very little about it. Interestingly he knows much more about the internment of the Japanese in this country during WWII than he knows about the Nazis and concentration camps. But that's because he knows someone who was interned. He knows the very basics, though, about the Holocaust and we've talked a little about the fact that there have been other genocides. I wouldn't feel comfortable with him reading The Diary of Anne Frank or something similar at this point, but I hope and assume that he will *long* before he's off to college.
> 
> ...


Yes, thank you. It sounds like we aren't that far off in our opinions, I just didn't read your post that way intially. I definitely do not plan to release my little birds from the nest into the world without any knowledge of it. That, IMHO, would be just as bad. I think I interpreted your thought of children needing to 'grow up' knowing about these things as exposing them from the start (literally, as soon as they can hear). It seems some in this thread do follow that philosophy. Anyway, that is what I didn't understand and was curious for your reasoning. Now I do understand that was not what you meant. Having an 8 yo know about something awful that happened, because it happened to his neighbor/friend and from this (presumably) good person in his life, is different - to me, than an arbitrary info-dump. It is a more holistic view than atrocities on a page/in a video/ on the radio. He can see this person, this real human being and hear their real story and witness their life now. I remember meeting my first Holocaust survivor in a college class. It was deeply affecting, and still is. It was far from the first time I learned about the Holocaust, but it was the firs time that I felt it. But it was a fabricated meeting, not something that happened as a natural part of my life. I am forever grateful for it, but I was in my 20s and 'signed up' for being educated on such things in the world. Not in my booster seat on the way to the grocery store with my mom hearing colorful descriptions on the radio when I should have been looking out the window at the real things in my life.


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## Adaline'sMama (Apr 16, 2010)

FWIW, I learned about the Holocaust from a history book in a middle school class in 7th grade. I think any child who goes to high school without knowing about it is probably going to be one of the very few who havent been exposed.


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## happy*mama (Sep 21, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *meemee*
> 
> all this is so subjective. not all children are like that. and that is the part we have to acknowledge. my dd is far more upset that her father and i don't get along, that a group of boys are bullying her best friend. anything else is so not that important. *it is us as parents who have to decide what is best for our children. not others telling us how we should be bringing up our children (not saying that that is what you are doing).* i recall asking my mom so many questions about things i heard. and she would keep telling me i was too young. so i would try and find out from others. and i'd get all convoluted answers.
> 
> ...


I agree that we parents need to decide what is best for our children. Simplicity Parenting spoke to me because I already had those parenting philosophies. It was nice to read a comprehensive and detailed explanation for these parenting philosophies, as this is an uncommon way to raise children. My husband and I do not know anyone else IRL who limits media the way we do. When my son starts asking questions about sensitive subjects, I will answer them honestly and to the best of my ability and in an age appropriate way that is specific to my son's sensitivities. I don't see the need to expose a young child to news when people we know and meet in our daily lives have issues that we need to explain to our children. i.e. we go to the grocery store and my son asks why someone is using a cane, an electronic cart, has a cast on their leg, has tattoos, why the ambulance is in a hurry, etc. The heavy stuff will come, but I prefer to allow my son to be a child for as long as possible (he is only 2). My mother did watch the news and listen to NPR, so I was exposed to a lot stuff that really did bother me at a young age. But, it didn't help that I had a very rough childhood. I know my own experience is determining how much media I will allow for my child during his young childhood years. I did, however, start reading the newspaper when I was 9 and was obsessed with going to library starting at age 10 to read encyclopedias front to back as well as other reference books. I do remember having an appetite for information about the world. Eight is kind of young in my opinion for the scary news stories on NPR, but other non-violent news and programs would be fine to me at that age. We filter our son's reading at this time, but I love books and research and plan to share all of that with him. Yes, other people, our kids friends will expose our child to things that we may find inappropriate, but we don't always have control over those moments, where as we do have control over the radio. I think we underrate children's attentiveness to what they hear on the radio. Just because a child does not react or ask about what they hear does not mean that they are not paying attention. They still may not be able to shut it out of their minds.


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