Once upon a time, I decided that I wasn’t going to “parent scared.” That means I wasn’t going to worry about presenting a sanitized version of reality where I pretended that violence and other tough topics didn’t exist. I could expose my kids to this stuff, and they’d know how to handle it.
Then I remembered that kids don’t grow up in a bubble. They interact with others through school, playgrounds, and sports. Those other kids also have parents, and those parents might not always be appreciative of my devil-may-care approach to what content is suitable for children.
My wife and I attended our son’s first school Christmas concert, after which we went back to the classroom and had free time to play around with the art supplies. My son came to me with a piece of paper and asked me to make him a goblin.
Charlie Brooks 