A Conversation With My 7 Year-Old About The Violence The Last Few Days

My heart aches for my 7 year-old. It seems will be growing up in a world in turmoil. He heard some things at camp (prior to the Dallas situation), so we had one of those talks.

Tonight, we spoke about hopelessness, anger, desperation, fear, bravery, cowardice, and heroism. I wish we hadn't needed to. I promised him that kindness and love can make a difference, but I wonder if that wasn't more me trying to keep myself convinced.

I shared with him the quote from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; Only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; Only love can do that."

We discussed what that meant, how we can try even when things seem dark, scary, and painful, to be light and love.

I hate these conversations, but love the simplicity of his heart to do just that.  These are difficult times to navigate for us adults.  It's even harder to do it as a parent and balance the realities without harming the innocence of our kids.