An Alabama mother was shocked to hear her 3-year-old daughter ask to see pictures of the “smoke and fire” from September 11, 2001, given that she never told her young child about the tragic events that unfolded on that day.
The mortified mom revealed that while having dinner one night, her 3-year-old daughter asked if she could see pictures of “the smoke and fire from the Twin Towers.” The little girl proceeded to explain to her family that two planes hit the towers on 9/11, and that “all of the mommies and daddies and babies and brothers and sisters died screaming.”
The mother emphasized that her daughter “emphatically” screamed the word “‘died’ over and over and over again.”
Following the uncomfortable conversation, the mom contacted the director of the daycare her daughter attends to get to the bottom of what exactly was taught about the American tragedy. She shared screenshots of the texts on TikTok.
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“Happy Saturday! Sorry to bother you on the weekend,” the mom began her message. “(My daughter has) been asking a lot of questions about 9/11. Is that something y’all covered at school in the last week?”
The director confirmed that her daughter’s teacher did, in fact, tell her students a “child-friendly story of 9/11.”
The mom then asked for a dialogue of the lesson along with any pictures or videos that were used.
“(She taught them) on that day there were some really bad people that did not like America and wanted to scare Americans, so they stole two planes and wanted to crash those planes to scare Americans,” the director responded. “And that the buildings that the planes crashed into were two very tall important buildings called the twin towers.”
“(The teacher) stated that Mommies, Daddies, brothers, sisters, and even babies were all in the buildings like a normal day of work and school,” the text continued. “And that a lot of people did lose their lives that day because of the terrible plane crash.”
Many parents and teachers agreed that children so young should not be taught about the horrific acts that occurred on 9/11 — especially not in daycare.
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“I was a Pre-K teacher for a collective 7 years, and this is absolutely INSANE,” one commenter wrote. “I’m so sorry that this was her first exposure to that day. Her brain isn’t even close to able to process that.”
“Kindergarten teacher here. I do not discuss it! I leave it up to my parents to discuss that with their children at home. They are too young, in my opinion!!” another user shared.
Other commenters insisted that 9/11 is a significant part of American history that our children are bound to learn about in schools. However, many agreed that the teacher went about the lesson in the wrong way.
“This may be an unpopular opinion but it’s history and they are really tough concepts; it’s good for them to know about death and sadness because you never know when those emotions will need to be used/processed,” one TikTok user noted.
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“When I worked daycare the events of 9/11 weren’t in the curriculum,” one commenter admitted. “We did do ‘Hero’ activities and discussed the importance of Firefighters, police, EMS & Hospital staff. That was the extent.”
“We had a dad who was a firefighter so on 9/11 we did an American flag and fire helmet craft and talked about being thankful for the people in our lives,” another wrote. “That’s how you acknowledge 9/11 for kids.”
The Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, an organization that composes age-appropriate lesson plans for children in schools, offers several lesson plans regarding 9/11 on their website but advises teachers that “children ages 4 to 7 are too young for a lesson on September 11.”
“They lack the knowledge to make sense of the attacks and their aftermath in any meaningful way,” the organization wrote.
The subjects of 9/11 can also be particularly frightening for young children.
“They’re not used to that. They’re used to stories geared toward kids, and so there’s a happy ending,” Brandon Graves, an elementary school teacher, told NPR.
It is best to wait until children are a bit older and have gained a more realistic perspective of the world before teaching them about sensitive subjects such as terrorism, war, and mass casualties.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City offers interactive lessons about what happened on that day for children who are in third grade and above, which is a more appropriate age for them to begin digesting those parts of American history.
However, what is taught at home will look different for every family.
Some parents have a personal connection to 9/11, whether they lost a loved one or their family member was a first responder on that day. They may want their children to know about the events of 9/11 sooner than other parents who would prefer their kids to be much older when they have this discussion.
Regardless of how parents choose to raise their kids, educators should seek their permission or at least give a heads-up if they plan to discuss 9/11 in the classroom with young students.
While it’s certainly an upsetting subject for many Americans to learn about and it can trigger a variety of emotions, we can also use the opportunity to remember the heroes of that day and recognize the efforts of firefighters, police officers, and ordinary people on the street who helped strangers to safety.
9/11 was undoubtedly one of the most horrific days in American history. But it was also a day when we all came together to offer support, a shoulder to cry on, and a hand to hold amidst the world crumbling around us.
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Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
