My daughter today, who is home schooled, told me

[Hekate]

14. I turned the TV off today. That is how I protected my 8 y.o. grandson from seeing it for awhile.

He's only with us Fri-Sat, but as this happened today it was easy for me to make that decision. By the time he gets home Saturday afternoon I hope the initial media frenzy will have abated just a little. It's too much for a kid to have to take in.

Remember Mr. Rogers special for-parents-only after 9-11? The gist of it was this: You have little children in your care. This is much much too big for them. All you grownups are very upset, and rightly so, but your job in this moment is to protect your little ones from the full onslaught of the information and the emotions swamping the country. Do not turn on the news while they are awake or in the room. Discuss with grownups away from the little ones.

After 9-11, PBS made the decision, almost alone of the TV stations, to keep to their regular children's programming schedule, and I'm sure Fred Rogers had a hand in that. News was broadcast at the usual times. (I became addicted to CNN in those days, months, years following 9-11 -- and found out about the 24/7 news/trivia cycle that never ends.)

Today I saw the President of the US weep, I heard S.E. Cupp sob on The Cycle, and I just turned it off. At 1:00 Pacific time I picked up my grandson from school and kept it off. We adults already know all we need to know just now, and it is breaking our hearts. Anything you can do inside your own house to quiet the noise from the MSM might go a long way toward keeping your daughter on an even keel.

That's all. I hope it helps a little.

Hekate