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My girls were traumatized today


MaBelle
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I took my grand girls, four, five and six, to a local fort for an encampment demonstration.  As we walked up to the "hospital area" I realized the demo was about a field amputation.  The "doctor" threw a bloody leg onto the ground in front of us.  Of course it was fake but the damage was done.  One of my babies spent the rest of the trip clingy and shy.

I mean, come on.  Really?  They'll probably never want to go back.

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Well, I wouldn't want to spoil it for others but I wish I'd had some type of warning.

When they are in their 60s they'll probably say "Remember when MaBelle showed us an amputation demonstration and we all had nightmares for weeks???"

Edited by MaBelle
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When I was a kid, we went to Tweetsie Railroad, and while on the train, part of the "show" was to have the train be ambushed by Indians.  One of the braves came up to me and slammed his tomahawk onto the edge of the seat in front of me.   I had nightmares about that for a long time.    What a stupid thing to do!

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19 minutes ago, Serenade said:

When I was a kid, we went to Tweetsie Railroad, and while on the train, part of the "show" was to have the train be ambushed by Indians.  One of the braves came up to me and slammed his tomahawk onto the edge of the seat in front of me.   I had nightmares about that for a long time.    What a stupid thing to do!

I think every kid within a 100-mile radius of Blowing Rock had that experience in the '80s. It was... memorable! That train ride was no joke.

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6 minutes ago, PeachyDoodle said:

I think every kid within a 100-mile radius of Blowing Rock had that experience in the '80s. It was... memorable! That train ride was no joke.

 

Kind of dating ourselves, huh? 😀 Except for me, it was in the, gulp, 70s....

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Yikes, poor kids!

 

We went on a tour of a coal mine.  That was ever so slightly creepy in itself, but then they talked about how young boys would work down there, and at one point, there was a scene set up to look as if a person was buried, hand sticking up.  DD was horrified by the idea that her brothers might have worked in a mine, and she is still very upset that they made the hand sticking up.  Ick!

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I know people are dismissive about trigger warnings, but this is exactly what they’re for. Like, I’m sure that demo is right for some older kids and most teens, but just warn people so they can choose to go over and see whatever needed a warning or not. In addition to young kids, there could be sensitive adults or actual vets or violence survivors who would choose not to go there.

Edited by Farrar
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IDK.  Any reenactment of war is going to be a thousand times more pleasant than it actually was. I'd rather it be a little disturbing than glamorize war.

If it was specifically marketed to kids, they absolutely should post a disclaimer and make people aware that there will be graphic displays. 

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4 hours ago, MercyA said:

IDK.  Any reenactment of war is going to be a thousand times more pleasant than it actually was. I'd rather it be a little disturbing than glamorize war.

If it was specifically marketed to kids, they absolutely should post a disclaimer and make people aware that there will be graphic displays. 

I agree.

It's not Disneyland--it's a reenactment of WAR. It's not supposed to look pretty, and yeah, it's supposed to leave an impression. 

I'll give that including fake severed body parts might not be suitable for all four year olds (although appropriate in a medical tent), but I sure want/ed my kid to understand that war wasn't/isn't glamorous and that the "good old days" were anything but. 

Sorry to hear it scared your grandkids though. 

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6 hours ago, MercyA said:

IDK.  Any reenactment of war is going to be a thousand times more pleasant than it actually was. I'd rather it be a little disturbing than glamorize war.

If it was specifically marketed to kids, they absolutely should post a disclaimer and make people aware that there will be graphic displays. 

I agree with this and I’d totally have taken my kids to see this... but I don’t feel like it hurts to give a little warning. Some people may think it’s going to be people in costumes giving a talk or showing artifacts and tools. No one needs to be surprised to still get that message and effect across.

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I have no problem with them doing stuff like that but they probably should just describe the different areas so people with very young children could avoid the amputation if they wanted. One time my ds was watching a Ken Burns Civil War thing and I was really surprised my dd was watching it too because she usually is not into that sort of thing. A short while later she was running downstairs because they were showing an amputation. She was older and it was on tv not something that looked real like what you saw. 

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