How to Give Your Children Peaceful Hearts in a Fearful Culture| National Catholic Register

The 24/7 news cycle and political fears impact children. This is how parents can intervene.

At the beginning of the year, I took a five-month break from Facebook. The politically themed posts and comments had simply become too toxic to read. In an election year, there has come to be an assumption – even if we tearfully lament it – that contributions (even from many Catholics) will be deeply charitable. To be sure, the 2024 election cycle offered a smorgasbord of sins against charity, but also a generous helping of apocalyptic declarations.

Comments like “If Biden wins, America is doomed” were juxtaposed with “If Trump wins, it’s the end of the republic.” Here in the post-election period, we don’t see quite as many of these exact comments. But the doom and gloom has gotten worse.

A typical example. Recently, President Biden authorized Ukraine to use long-range weapons provided by the US against targets on Russian territory. Russia responded by firing medium-range ballistic missiles at Ukraine.

The reaction on Facebook was that this would inevitably lead to a nuclear conflict. Of course, this discussion is not just limited to social media. A few days ago a friend asked me, “What do you think about the start of World War III?”

It is tempting to talk here about the just war doctrine, Ukraine’s natural right to self-defense, Putin’s use of North Korean troops, the Cold War or Our Lady of Fatima.

But at this moment it is more important – critically important – that parents understand the fear that this talk of “World War III” is instilling in their children, especially younger children. Parents may not believe that their 8- and 9-year-old children are listening when Mom and Dad are watching “the news,” for example. But they are. And many of them are afraid. Worse, they don’t know exactly how to ask Mom and Dad about it. They’re just more afraid.

I grew up during the Cold War. I saw on television the Soviet parades where the government displayed weapons in the streets. I have seen images of invasions by Russian satellite nations. I knew my father had fought in Vietnam before. Would he have to go back? As a little boy, these thoughts frightened me greatly. The clap of thunder scared me very much because I imagined that the Russians had finally dropped a bomb near us. Of course, as a small child it is difficult to know how to ask your mother about geopolitics and Sovietology. You just go to bed at night full of fear.

Remember, that was before the 24/7 news cycle in which networks and podcasts constantly stoke fear and anger – vices that have proven addictive to modern audiences. This is no coincidence. A friend of mine once worked for a conservative political think tank. His boss told him that his job was to figure out what topic scared the audience the most and write emails that addressed that fear in hopes of generating donations. Many news channels work the same way: they scare and upset people, and they’ll tune in again tomorrow. That’s the formula, and it’s proven embarrassingly successful. But the saddest part is that the children hear all this in their homes.

A parent might think that their young son or daughter is quietly playing with toys in the living room without hearing the news on television. But very often that is not the case. They may not know the exact meaning of what they hear, but they are listening.

After all, it was me.

It is unfair to place the world’s geopolitical problems on the tiny shoulders of children at all – especially on the basis of nightly, three-hour binge drinking.

I claim that I have no expertise other than raising and homeschooling nine children, but I would suggest that instead of watching the auspicious news of Armageddon in front of our children, we find meaningful pursuits. For younger children, turn off the “news” and podcasts and take a refreshing break from Facebook. Play games. Get out the Monopoly set or a deck of cards. Drink eggnog while playing Candyland. Read them The magician’s nephew. Play with Pet Shop Toys. Play charades. Take them for a walk. Check out Christmas light displays and nativity scenes. Go sledding.

Do the things parents used to do before obsession with politics became fashionable.