What Should You Tell Your Kids About Osama's Death?

Like many of us, you’ve probably been glued to the computer or the television these past 18 hours since the killing of Osama Bin Laden was announced.

Well, what about your kids?  What have they been seeing and hearing and what’s the best way to talk to them about it?

I asked Ruth Beaglehole of what’s now celled .  As many of us know, the Center was once called the Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting, and has at its core taking a nonviolent approach to violent behavior patterns.

Beaglehole is very worried about the message the Bin Laden killing may send to kids, especially preschoolers.

"I’m hoping that parents are keeping their children shielded from it," she said. "I think  little children need to be protected.”

Beaglehole recommends keeping young kids away from the media and away from conversations about the news that could scare or confuse them.

"But, If they do hear the story, then you’ve got to tell them in a way that doesn’t scare them,” she admits.

She recommends probing young children with a neutral question like, “It was a very big news day. What did you hear people talking about at school?”

Beaglehole, on the other hand, thinks older children need to hear the truth.

She said she would frame the event as a “government decision that involved conflict between countries.”

She said she would stress how different government is from the world of school and family, where “where we keep each other safe and don’t hurt one another.”

As someone who’s spent decades working to heal gang violence in our community, Beaglehole, in general, sees Sunday night’s news as a missed opportunity to model good conflict resolution behavior.

“There is another generation that is in danger of getting a scary message of this—that we can resolve injustice through violence and killings.”