Thursday, June 30, 2016

Sleepy Hollow

The Boy likes scary stuff. He talks about monsters, blood, bad guys, ghosts, spooky guys, raccoons, bats, witches, and any other ghoulish things he can think of. I try to talk of these things in an age-appropriate ways; I don't want to ignore his questions. However, I fear that I may be telling him things that are not helpful to his well-being. I want to tell him that evil is everywhere, that the world can be a dangerous place. I want to tell him that bad things can happen to good people. I want to tell him about being backed into a corner and doing things that go against decency and morality. I want to tell him that addiction makes the afflicted do awful things. But I know that isn't right. I know that what he needs to hear is that his parents, who love him very much, will (try to) protect him against the evils of the world. And I do tell him that. But when he asks questions about monsters I think of murderers and rapists. When he asks about bad guys, I think of robbers. My real conundrum is to discern how much scary stuff to tell him. How do I know what is appropriate? How can I tell him about the evils of the world without scaring the bee-jezus out of him? Case by case, I suppose. I know my son, and I know that if I scare him too much, I'll have to comfort him. Not a bad place to be, really.

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