Talking to Children about the DC Metro Tragedy

At breakfast every morning, I read the newspaper with my children.  Over my cup of coffee and their mouthfuls of Cheerios, we talk about the weather, we read the Kids Post, and we glance at the pictures on the front page.  If I find an interesting story, like Monday’s motorcycle-riding dog, I’ll read it, and we laugh about it, talk about it, wonder about it.  If we need more information on something we’ve read, we do a little internet or library research to try to find some answers.  As a Reading Specialist and former high school English teacher, I know the value in showing my children, even though they are only 5, 3, and 2 years old, the importance of reading for enjoyment and to gain knowledge of world and local events. 

Today’s front page had a heart-wrenching photo of rescue workers standing on top of one Metro train in order to free passengers from the mangled train above it. The article detailed what happened; a second train rear-ended the first that had stopped on the tracks, and nine people were killed and over 70 were injured.  There’s a very clear “M” on the train in the picture; the headline of the paper is much larger than normal, as is the case in any major news event. 

My children woke up at their grandparents’ house this morning, so our routine was unusual today.  But I can’t help but wonder, if it were a “normal” day, how would I handle our daily trip through the newspaper?

• Would my Metro-loving son have noticed that there was a picture of a train he knows on the cover?  

• Might my oldest daughter--an emerging reader--have recognized the difference in headline size?

• Could she have read the words “Red Line Crash”? 
  

• How would I have explained yesterday’s events in an age-appropriate way?

• How might the information have changed their view of their beloved Metro?

• Am I doing my children a disservice by reading the paper with them daily?

• How much should I filter for them, and how much of an explanation do they deserve?

The Red Line is our Metro line; we pick up our train at Glenmont whenever we go into the city, and Glenmont takes us through Silver Spring, to Takoma, to Fort Totten, and on through to Union Station then Metro Center.  When we went to the city this past Saturday, we contemplated taking Metro but decided to drive instead.  We always find an excuse to take the train into the city because our children love it that much.  It was unusual for us to drive on Saturday.   I cannot even begin to fathom what might have happened if this unthinkable event occurred two days earlier and if we had taken the train. 

The Metro tragedy is heartbreaking, scary, and unbelievable.  I am continuing to pray for the families of the deceased and injured and hope that officials can find some answers—not that they would necessarily ease the pain of the event—but so that we can prevent other similar accidents from occurring.  And until then, I think I will put my explanations on hold until I can wrap my head around the situation myself.

This is an original DC Metro Moms post.

Amy writes at teachmama where she shares the ways she teaches her three children about letters, numbers, books, and life in general.