Of course, he's nearly 5, but I'll keep him 4 for as long as I can :-)

I've already discussed here how I started the cycle of life talk with Sammy a couple months ago.  It wasn't the most fun, but I think that it was a good intro to the topic.  I nearly reached that level of discomfort again today.

The news and talk amongst people has been a constant stream the last two days about the awful events in Japan.  They are experiencing tragedy upon tragedy with the earthquakes, tsunamis, and now the resulting issues with their nuclear plants.  The images have touch be greatly, but I hadn't exposed Sammy to them.  The news was on at his Grandparent's apartment today, as was the talk.  Naturally, he started asking what an earthquake was.

Moon turns and says, "Dan, that's you." I was happy to explain earthquakes.  This is a great teachable moment, right?  So I go through how the earth is round and there are pieces that move very slowly.  He seemed to get that these pieces rub against each other and sometime go over/under one another.  Then I explained how this causes a big wave (like the ones he was seeing on TV) and that these waves create a lot of damage.  I also said that it can hurt many people.

He asked if the earthquake would come here. I said it was very unlikely.  He asked if the water would come here. I said no (we are about 50 miles inland).  Then he asked if any kids died. Yep, this is the part that I wasn't so thrilled talking about.  I said, yes.  Then he asked if any mommies and daddies died. I said yes.  I thought for a couple seconds, watched the water breach the land again on the news, and then moved on.  He was amazed that the cars (and planes, especially the planes) were carried away by the water.  And that was it.  Nothing more for now.

I really hope that allowing him to see that footage or talking to him about it doesn't land him on the theapists couch in the future.  I feel that countering questions with thoughful, complete-ish answers is the best way to guide a child's learning and curiousity.  However, I struggle with how much to explain and when to do so.  I support time will tell.