Introducing your kids to the horrors of WWII

[JessReplanted]

Does anyone else have a hard time with this?

 

Last week my 9 year old son read the book Twenty and Ten (which I used as a read aloud quite a while ago). He had a lot of questions about Nazis. Today at the library he wanted to get books about WWII. I steered him away from one book that had some upsetting pictures, but allowed him to get The Big Lie by Isabella Leitner.

He read the whole book already and we've had quite a conversation about the Nazis and the Holocaust.

 

This is more than I'm really interested in dealing with right now. At what age do you allow your children to delve into the truly horrifying parts of history?

[TranquilMind]

Does anyone else have a hard time with this?

 

Last week my 9 year old son read the book Twenty and Ten (which I used as a read aloud quite a while ago). He had a lot of questions about Nazis. Today at the library he wanted to get books about WWII. I steered him away from one book that had some upsetting pictures, but allowed him to get The Big Lie by Isabella Leitner.

He read the whole book already and we've had quite a conversation about the Nazis and the Holocaust.

 

This is more than I'm really interested in dealing with right now. At what age do you allow your children to delve into the truly horrifying parts of history?

Nine is more than old enough to discuss this.

 

I think we did this at about 6, and even watched an edited version of "Schindler's List".

 

I'm a protective parent, but over supernatural garbage and sexual stuff, not history, I guess.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Well, since my kids are Jewish, they've heard talk of the shoah at temple, but we've never really discussed it much. Ds1 is a very sensitive aspie, and I think it will be a major shock to his system when he eventually learns about that time period. I'm planning to introduce it gently next year when we are on the modern history portion of the cycle. Ds1 will be 10 and ds2 will be 8.

[Mama Geek]

I know my dd is still young, but we have been reading from the bible since day one. There isn't anything worse about WW11 than what is in the bible. I doubt I would have her watch The Passion or an unedited version of The Schindlers List, but I wouldn't stop her from reading books about it.

[BrotherAtticus]

I have studied WWII for many many years.

Learning about aushwitz is probabbly safe at age 11

everything else 8-10

[goldberry]

Wow, my DD was extremely sensitive, so we didn't get into the really bad parts until this year (12-13). But that was based on her personality.

[kalanamak]

 

This is more than I'm really interested in dealing with right now. At what age do you allow your children to delve into the truly horrifying parts of history?

 

Actually, my son had more trouble with the French Revolution. The knitters made him leave the room. I think it is because my son has gotten to meet people who were in the war, but that is hunch on my part.

[JessReplanted]

Thanks for sharing your opinions. My son is very sensitive, as am I.

 

Honestly, to me there's a huge difference between reading about things in the Bible vs. seeing photographs of dead bodies, mutilated children, or Holocaust victims. And, for whatever reason, the more 'modern' a war or event is, the more sensitive I am to it. I choked up last year when I was trying to read my son a book about 9/11. :glare:

 

I'll keep proceeding - with caution. Thanks.

Edited May 18, 2012 by JessReplanted

[BakersDozen]

I didn't cover WWII until middle school. I remember the day I was introducing the time period and standing there looking at my dc who had no idea such horrors exist in this world, I started to cry. I didn't want to bring this into our house or into their minds yet I knew I had to. It was so hard and there were a lot of tears as we read books together.

 

My oldest dd is now going through that time period again and it is just as hard for both of us. Although for her reading about the gladiators and persecutions in world history also had her sobbing in her room. :(

[Cassy]

I'm British and was brought up hearing a lot about WWII, my father fought in Egypt and took part in the D-Day landings. We were taught about it in quite a lot of detail at school, but it was only at the age 17 that I saw any of those horrendous photographs of Auschwitz; I remember being quite traumatised for a long time. I think it is possible to teach WWII to younger children without exposing them to the full horrors. Last summer we took the boys to Normandy and visited the museum and cinema at Arromanches, they were fascinated and really enjoyed it.

 

Cassy

[mommymilkies]

I'd say around 8-9 I give them more details. But I had family who died in concentration camps, so it's not something I will shield them from.

 

We formally learned about the Holocaust in 6th grade. Our teacher was going to let us watch a slightly edited Schindler's List, but not enough parents consented (mine were ok with it).

Edited May 18, 2012 by mommymilkies

[Chris in VA]

Does anyone else have a hard time with this?

 

Last week my 9 year old son read the book Twenty and Ten (which I used as a read aloud quite a while ago). He had a lot of questions about Nazis. Today at the library he wanted to get books about WWII. I steered him away from one book that had some upsetting pictures, but allowed him to get The Big Lie by Isabella Leitner.

He read the whole book already and we've had quite a conversation about the Nazis and the Holocaust.

 

This is more than I'm really interested in dealing with right now. At what age do you allow your children to delve into the truly horrifying parts of history?

 

High school, here. It's always been hard for me, introducing things like the gassing in WWI or the Holocaust in WWII. I feel, personally, it's introduced too early in public school. Kids are reading Number The Stars in 3rd grade here--that's a rather gentle introduction, considering, but still, it's bothered me.

 

I went a little overboard with ds, tho--he was in 11th grade when we got to WWII. He already knew a lot about it, being an Aspie who was interested in it. But I wanted him to go deeper into the Holocaust, so he read Corrie Ten Boom's book, and we looked at things online (the camps, the poetry, some personal stories) and watched Schindler's List (a film he now has a problem with). At one point, he just said, Mom, it's too much. And we moved on.

 

It is too much. It is supposed to be too much. I just don't want to get that deep with a child under high school age, and even then, to be careful.

[MamaT]

We are doing moderns next year, and I will go WAY more in depth with my youngest three this go round. They will be 13, 14, and almost 16.

 

Our last cycle through moderns, my son was in the Marine Corp and deployed, and the kids were 9, 10, and 12. They were already crying themselves to sleep some nights. We had Moderns lite.

[Element]

I have a very sensitive ds, and we talked a little bit about WWII this year (he is 8.) He read about Anne Frank and also read and discussed some other books including I Never Saw Another Butterfly. No Schindler's List yet, for us anyway. It just depends on the child.

Edited May 20, 2012 by Element

[lauracolumbus]

I'm British and was brought up hearing a lot about WWII, my father fought in Egypt and took part in the D-Day landings. We were taught about it in quite a lot of detail at school, but it was only at the age 17 that I saw any of those horrendous photographs of Auschwitz; I remember being quite traumatised for a long time. I think it is possible to teach WWII to younger children without exposing them to the full horrors. Last summer we took the boys to Normandy and visited the museum and cinema at Arromanches, they were fascinated and really enjoyed it.

 

Cassy

 

:iagree:

 

My kids know some of the facts of Auschwitz, but will not see images or books in detail for a while. I see no need til they're older.

Laura

[Shellydon]

We are doing WWII right now. I have read them excerpts from SOTW and we are reading a fiction novel On The Wings Of Heroes. We have talked generally about how the Nazis under the direction of Hitler did horrible things to the Jews and how they killed millions of innocent people. We have talked about the existence of concentration camps. My oldest is 9. We will talk about it more in depth in 4 or 5 years.

[Farrar]

Well, I had to explain Hitler thanks to a Doctor Who episode...

 

But actually, I sort of feel like that's for the good. My kids are young, but I like to introduce things like this young, but gently. Not shying away, being very clear that there have been some bad people in history and some terrible things have happened, but also not being graphic.

[sparrow]

Thanks for sharing your opinions. My son is very sensitive, as am I.

 

Honestly, to me there's a huge difference between reading about things in the Bible vs. seeing photographs of dead bodies, mutilated children, or Holocaust victims. And, for whatever reason, the more 'modern' a war or event is, the more sensitive I am to it. I choked up last year when I was trying to read my son a book about 9/11. :glare:

 

I'll keep proceeding - with caution. Thanks.

 

My son and I have cried together over WWII atrocities. I get it :grouphug:.

 

I have introduced things slowly and carefully. Schindler's List will need to wait until he's at least 14. I know it will have a very strong effect on him.

[J-rap]

I would take the biggest cues from your son. We watched a WWII documentary when my son (our oldest) was about 11 or 12, and my daughter was a year behind. (We didn't let the others watch it.) About 1/4 of the way in, my son got up and walked out. It was too graphic for him. I felt really badly that I had exposed him to something like that before he was ready.

 

I was much more careful after that. I think it's a lot different see the graphic photos from WWII rather than reading about atrocities in the Bible. The photos are much more realistic, and it really wasn't that long ago. The Bible events happened so long ago, it's easier to separate it.

 

It probably wasn't until high school age that I felt they were ready to deal with all of that without my shielding them from things. We didn't let them see Shindler's list until they were at least 16 or 17.

 

But, children are different. There are a lot of books out there now on the Holocaust. I think the ones meant for children are less graphic.

[Little Nyssa]

My kids are 5 and 7, and they already know about WWII a little bit: they know the name Hitler, they know about his racism and his genocide. They do not know how that genocide was carried out. They know about the evacuation from Dunkirk, and D-Day, and Pearl Harbor. All these I can explain in general terms which they can understand without explaining, and I would not show them pictures. They also know about the defeat and occupation of Japan, but not about the devastation of the nuclear bombs.

 

I think I will be teaching them about the very evil aspects of WWII little by little. And, it will depend on their temperaments. Definitely I would not have them read Anne Frank until high school. A book like Night I think I would leave to college.

[Alicia64]

I won't cover WW II until middle school -- I think nine is too young. I learned about Anne Frank at about 12 or 13 and was absolutely horrified.

 

It was fine to learn at that age, but I don't think I really gave myself permission to think about it and "get it" until I was in college.

 

I think kids can understand things better at various ages. I don't see the point in presenting it when they're younger. What's the rush?

 

Alley