Kids And Tragedy

In my opinion as a Children’s Pastor, I believe the number one thing North American children struggle with is fear.  Sometimes they don’t even know what they’re afraid of or how to articulate how they feel.  When tragedies occur, we adults can sometimes fuel the fear without knowing it just by the way we speak around the children.  When violence or disaster strikes, we panic and wonder how we are going to discuss it with our children.

The answer is that you don’t have to say anything. You simply pray for the people affected and move on.  If the kids bring up the subject, which they probably won’t, you can just help them understand that no matter what terrible things happen to us or around us, God will always take care of us. The bigger of a deal we make out of it, the more we feed the fear. The kids don’t need to worry about such things unless they bring up questions. In which case we simply remind them of Gods promises and move on.

We don’t have to avoid or sugar coat the truth, but violence and sin are not new problems in our world and have been happening every day for thousands of years in every country in the world.  But God’s promises are just as true when we see the tragedies as when we’re not noticing them. 

Philippians 4:6-8

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.