Talking to My Kids About ISIS

Our family talked a lot recently about terrorism, and about ISIS specifically. I got into a lot of details that I really didn't want to discuss with my little innocents, but the news was on, it was horrible, and they were asking questions. So it was time.

Then Madeline said, "I hate ISIS. I want to do something to stop them. What can I do?"

As a father, I was proud of her instinct and courage, but I was stumped in practical terms. After a moment, I simply told her to be good. "I think," I suggested, "that every act of kindness is an act of counter-terrorism. So be good. At all costs and at all times, be good and kind and loving." Then, because there is a hawk that stirs my soul at times such as these, I added, "And pray for our warriors who are fighting them head on."