Reply To: Inappropriate "Jewish" Periodical

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#793219
Midwest2
Participant

About the magazine, I’m not sure, since I don’t live in Lakewood. The obvious thing to do is just throw it out as soon as it comes and write a letter to the editor. If your friends are willing, let them do so too.

About teaching the Holocaust to children: children figure things out very young. Terrible things frighten them. What frightens them even more is when the adults around them seem frightened, and refuse to talk about things. There are various levels of “teaching” the Holocaust, ranging from the simple statement that a madman killed many, many Jews to detailed descriptions of what happened at Auschwitz. Please, be honest with your children. I know people who went off the derech because the people around them refused to talk about what happened to their (the children’s) parents and families. When your children ask, answer – maybe not in gruesome detail, but enough to satisfy the child’s need to know. Sixth grade is already way too late for general discussions, and it’s probably still too young for really detailed accounts.

Tailor your answer to the child’s character and age. If you know he/she is imaginative, go easy on the details. But never, ever refuse to answer at all. The unknown is always more fearsome.