Dinner Conversation

Interesting Questions

How do you explain the news of Osama bin Laden’s death to a couple of smart, curious kids? It’s not as easy as you might think. This was a surprising topic of conversation at the diner table between me and my two girls. Keep in mind they are 6 and 8 years old…I was rather impressed…

Went something like this…

Kiddos: Dad, was Osama bin Laden a bad man?

Me: He was a bad man.

Kiddos: Is that why we killed him?

Me: Well, we didn’t “kill” him. The military…do you two know what the military is?

Kiddos: Yeah, it’s the army.

Me: Well, it’s more then just the army (and I explained the concept of the military and armed forces to both kids).

Me: The military had to find him so that he wouldn’t hurt any more people.

Kiddos: Well does that military get rid of all “bad” people.

Me: Good question, no they do not. But this man tried to hurt many people that live in our country and he even went as far as to have a plan that hurt and killed a bunch of people.

Kiddos: You mean the attack on the Twin Towers.

Me: (I had no idea they even knew about the 9/11) Yes, he was one of the people that came up with the plan to attack the Twin Towers.

Kiddos: Well, I’m glad he’s killed…aren’t you Dad?

Me: Well, I’m glad that he’s not hurting any more people.

Kiddo’s: Me too, I wish they would get rid of all the bad people.

It just struck me…a little funny. What a different world we live in now compared to when I was a kid. This is one of those conversations that you don’t really prep for. In what book is the chapter on how to talk to elementary age kids about global terrorism and getting rid of terrorists – or the threat of terrorist attacks and retaliation?


It makes me feel good and proud to have such curious kids who can ask intelligent questions, but also makes me sad for the state of the world that we live in now. Kids shouldn’t have to think about things like terrorist and be glad that they are dead…as I cleaned up the dishes from dinner…just make me a little sad for the world that these kids live in know as compared to when I grew up.