Above all, teach them to love.

To say that 2020 has been a challenging year is an understatement. Not only are we managing our children’s real fears of the COVID-19 pandemic, we now layer in attempting to explain a world of violence and hate and sadness that has always existed but now lives front and center. None of us are ever quite prepared for this as a parent. Our skills are being tested.

Know and accept that you may not have all of the answers. You may not even be sure how to process all of this yourself, much less how to explain it to your child in a way that promotes compassion and love rather than panic and fear.

If you, like so many, are grieving the state of our world and are at a loss for words, start by telling your children that you love them. Be a model of kindness, love, and compassion for all things you may not, can not, and, maybe, never will understand. Promote an atmosphere of open conversation and dialogue. Allow your children to think out loud, to ask all of the questions, to be honest, to cry, and to feel. If nothing else, allow your children to feel safe in their emotions and thoughts with you at a time when the world may not be offering security itself.

All of us have a choice moving forward. While I may never be able to understand another person’s life experience, I can open my mind and heart to their perspective and teach my children to do the same. I want to believe that we, individually and as a society, can do better.

Please, talk to your children and, if nothing else, teach them love.