We are living through a disaster down here in Texas, and I am thinking, as I do often, about Mr. Rogers’ mother’s words of advice:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.“
Texans ! RT pic.twitter.com/V0qOXeJG3Y
— thor harris (@thorharris666) February 17, 2021
I thought about Mr. Rogers when I saw this message from Thor Harris yesterday morning. Thor is one of the helpers. The folks at HEB are helpers. The Texas Game Wardens are helpers. Look for the helpers and you’ll find them.
For those outside of Texas, Mr. Rogers had more to say about talking to kids about tragic events:
Some parents wonder how to handle world news with their young children. [We] have discovered that when children bring up something frightening, it’s helpful right away to ask them what they know about it. We often find that their fantasies are very different from the actual truth. What children probably need to hear most from us adults is that they can talk with us about anything. And that we will do all we can to keep them safe in any scary time.
See also: “How much do we tell our kids?”
