“I’m looking for direction on reading heavy material to children.”
A reader’s question leads to a flash essay — 1-min read!
I suggest a conversation with your librarian or local, indy bookseller. There are so many great books written with sensitivity and age-awareness. You won’t have any problems finding the correct one(s) for your child.
Something I learned from my children — now ages 17 and 20: follow their lead. They will ask questions that reveal their current interests and ability to handle issues.
For example: I am a survivor of childhood sexual trauma. When my oldest was three years old, he wanted to know why we had photos of Daddy’s family around the house but no photos of mine. I told him that which I’d been practicing with my therapist: “When I was growing up, my father hit me. He had not been taught to express his feelings in any other way than violence, and his children were the easiest to hit. I stay away from my father because I wanted to stay safe.”
I didn’t reveal the full nature of the trauma I went through until two summers ago. I had a (first!!!) novel coming out and I wanted to be as gentle as possible in their introduction to the totality of my history. Both times — when my son was young and then when they were older and I told the whole story — my children handed the information with grace and pure compassion. At three years old, my son came to me two days after I told hit my father hit me, and said, “I think your daddy should be in jail.”
I replied, “I agree!”
My novel follows a child trauma survivor who practices tai chi as part of her healing journey. Speaking of journey: the story takes place as she travels through Southeast Asia and then moves to Japan.
