First Lady: Turn Off TVs on 9 / 11

AP via NYTimes.com ^ | 9/6/02

[don-o]

Giggle, the role of the First Lady is to be sweet and say dumb things that makes no difference.

It's not nice to be like that this late.

[Hunble]

they have jack to contribute to the raising of our children.

On that issue, you have no argument from me.

Ok, back to Laura Bush's quotes from the original ariticle as posted about. What exactly did you object to?

[rintense]

That's great news, Cyn! The teachers I know said they will not follow the NEA mandate either.

[soozla]

"It is a sad commentary that Mrs Dubya allows herself to be used as the "First Mama."

I don't think so......she's sincere and she knows, as most of us do, that the most important job that we will EVER have, is being good parents to our kids.......and that it's too easy to become wrapped up in adult stuff and forget to view life through their eyes, once in a while

The key to being a "good parent" is never being that far away from remembering what it was like to be a kid yourself.........and yet, so many parents do!

[Hunble]

I agree, and I missed that one from Arkinsaw.

Got a little diverted by someone that worried about what the First Lady had to say.

[don-o]

Sigh.

Have you even read my posts?

I object to Mrs Dubya falling into the same old routine that the Hildabeest perfected in "It Takes a Village..."

I does not matter if the First Lady told kids it is a good thing to brush their teeth, eat their vegetables and cut out the Nintendo.

I DO NOT NEED WASHINGTON DC ADVISING ME ON HOW TO RAISE MY CHILDREN.

[He Rides A White Horse]

I have to disagree. My kids have seen the images and had them explained.

This is age dependent......and parents will be the most qualified to determine what is appropriate.

[Hunble]

That was a fair reply, and I did go back to your original posting.

I guess the "First Mama" comment is what got me interested.

As a Grandpa, I do understand what you were talking about.

[sushiman]

" Children need assurance they are safe, " ...

Safe ? A relative term ...Meanwhile 1000s of illegals cross our open borders each week ...And the Americano gringos sit on their collective ass and do nothing .

[Jaidyn]

I totally agree with you! My granddaughter started having nightmares after the attacks and by the time they started abating, children were broadcast being abducted and she is having them again. I happened across a children's prayer book, 'Precious Moments' which touched on bad dreams and a guardian angel. I read it to her and now, instead of bad dreams, she talks about her 'guardian angel'. I feel so bad for the children today.

[Hunble]

Yup, but this "Americano gringo" is not sitting on his butt.

While trying to reply to this thread tonight, I am also printing on my own personal printer, a Supreme Count ruling (387 U.S. 523) to be exact.

10 September 2002 is our local primary. I pray that I am not elected to office, but I will do my best to protect my fellow citizens.

I may be prevented from distributing campain material at the election location, but I dare anyone to tell me that I am NOT allowed to distribute a Suprene Court ruling that protects our Civil Rights!

[Entropy Squared]

I didn't think the day would come that I would disagree with First Lady Bush, but I disagree. I want the image of what happened a year ago seared into the brains of my children. I don't want them to ever forget. I want them to know why we fight.

[GeneD]

To all those who want to see the WTC disaster replayed on a 24-hour tape loop:

The planes carrying America's horror crashed not just in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, but in living rooms across the country. This disaster was televised, live and in living - and dying - color.

Most of us couldn't stop watching, as the news was constantly updated, the gruesome footage endlessly replayed.

Now the horror is back, in reruns dressed up as first anniversary commemorations. Over the next week, we'll be bombarded with recollections of Sept. 11. Moments of silence will interrupt school days and Major League baseball games. There will be special events of all kinds. Panelists will discuss the state of the world. Newspapers, including this one, will publish page after page of memories and reflection. We'll again be drawn to the TV, like moths to a flame, to join in a national rite of catharsis and recommitment.

Many of these programs and events - most, we hope - will be tasteful and appropriate. They will tell compelling stories and respect shared values. They will give all of us a chance to shed a tear, say a prayer and rekindle the patriotism that swept the nation in the wake of the terrorists' attack.

But a word of warning: If there's one thing television excels at, it's excess. And too much immersion in televised tragedy can be hazardous to your mental health.

The nation saw an upsurge in clinical depression in the wake of Sept. 11. That's a natural reaction for people who lost friends or relatives in the attacks, and there are thousands of these survivors whose grief is real and justified. But there are millions more whose grief came as much from the coverage of the event as the event itself. Mental health professionals have found that more 9/11 coverage people watched, the more likely they were to become depressed.

This is especially true for children. An Oklahoma State University study found that sixth-graders who watched coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing on TV had a 16 percent increase in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Children don't always give voice to their fears, but the response of many children to Sept. 11 was predictable fear, insecurity and nightmares. Wise parents offered hugs, explanations and reassurance - and turned off the TV.

Adults may find value from the national revisitation of Sept. 11, though no one should feel obligated to join the frenzy of commemoration. But there's little to be gained by encouraging children to revisit their nightmares. If they're watching when the towers start falling for the umpteenth time, change the channel.

Forgive me for not thinking Laura Bush a wimp.

[Hunble]

Thanks for the bold type. I fully agree.

[dsutah]

I don't know if they are unnesessarily sheltered. When I was younger, the movies had a lot of violence, but it wasn't as graphic as it is now. But one thing about "The Patriot"; is that although laced with graphic violence, there was no sex, and no nasty swear words! Of course, they didn't have nearly as nasty words in those days as there are now, at least not the same ones!

I always tried to shelter my kids the best way I could when they were too young to watch some things. In some movies and t.v. that were only a little bit scary or violent, I would watch them with them, and have them cover their eyes, or go out of the room. But with films and t.v. that were much more extreme, (violence, sex, language), they weren't allowed to watch at all.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

*Bump* for later reading ...

[dsutah]

I know, things were scary enough at times when a lot of us were growing up. I'm sure our parents had things to be scared about at their time, some we don't share. But some, however, we do.

I remember when after the assasination of Prez. Kennedy, I had a nightmare or two. I was just getting to the age of being aware of what was going on in the world around me. I was afraid of someone coming to kill my dad or mom. The Kennedy children were about the same ages as my siblings and I. These kids had lost their daddy, and I was scared it would happen to mine! But being in a military family, and living near a fortified military facility (a base)did have its unique comforts and reassurances.

[Cindy]

Gene, re your post #53: You might find this short commentary I wrote helpful.

"INFORMATION OVERLOAD" -Commentary by Cindy Furnare

[Jaidyn]

I was a sophomore in high school when President Kennedy was assassinated. I don't recall any nightmares then, but I did have one concerning the Cuban Missile Crisis. I used to be afraid of a world war until I realized that was not to be. Now, all these years later, it's on my mind quite often. The kids are picking up on it. Homes have televisions in every room. Unless you turn on a kid's channel 24/7 the kids will hear it. We had one television but were never in the house long enough to listen to the news which was only on three channels at that time.

[swarthyguy]

she's wrong. Perhaps for the very young - under 6 -9 -10 but the rest -- they should know the world they are growing up in.