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My mom was always really open with me about real life things, which is why I got to watch movies with tougher subject lines when I was younger. These kinds of movies impact you. They open your mind to different types of lives, consequences of difficult choices and a ton of actors that are way more talented than the ones you find on Disney channel. A lot of people don't think that kids should be talked to about real life things, so we play cookie cutter families and push things under the rug. We watch what we say and make sure that they don't know too much about grown up things.

A long time ago this probably made a lot of sense. Children were raised differently and no one really found out about "grown up things" unless they had older siblings. There will always be one kid with an older sibling that knows everything and is not at all afraid to share everything to their siblings and then to the entire school. That's why we have to face up to the fact that we live in a different time. Kids know things a lot earlier now. It doesn't make any sense to hide everything from them. Obviously there is a time and a place for that sort of sharing, but it is definitely not something to hide.

Talk to kids like adults. Help them work through their problems logically. If someone pushes them on the playground don't brush it off with an "that's why kids do when they like you." Help them figure it out and then help them to confront the person and sort the situation out. Teach your daughters to stick up for themselves and the things that they like. Teach your sons that girls are equal to them and that they can be emotional about stuff. Raise your kids to be healthy adults with sensible decision making skills. Teach them to think for themselves and about others. 

catch you later,

Karleigh

“For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be.” // John Connolly, The Book of Lost Things