7 year old asks what a serial killer is - how do I reply?
How do we reply? She has so far had a very sheltered upbringing and I want it to stay that way for the time being. I remember when I was 8 hearing on the news about the Black panther murderer and I had nightmares about it for years and it still haunts me to this day and I don't want my daughter to have a similar experience.
Answer:
Tell her the truth, always the truth.
Or else, how is she to believe her parents?
You don't need to go into a lot of details, just keep it simple.
Sorry but the PE teacher sounds like a fool!
say he is a very bad person , who is mental unstable, and you never want to be around. and he hurts alot of good ppl .
7 year old's don't need to know all the negative foibles of human behavior. They have enough to comprehend like arithmetic and math.
I would just get out the corn flakes and show her what a cereal killer looks like.
You simply say that it's a bad person who kills people because their brain is broken. A little truth never hurt anyone. Make her feel at ease by explaining that there aren't any that live by you, there aren't many of them and make her feel safe.
How about bad ratings?
serial killer is a person who killed a person day by day lol
You tell her the truth, for the truth will keep her safe. Knowing there are bad people out there is a good thing, thinking that people are nice is dangerous. You'll be doing her a favor if she is a little wary of strangers... think about it! You don't have to get graphic, but be honest and sincere. Seven is not too young to have some idea that the world is all sunshine and roses, if she goes anywhere at any time without complete adult supervision, it is not too early at all. Think about it. You aren't doing her favors keeping her sheltered, she'll still have a happy childhood even if she knows HOW TO KEEP SAFE!! Give her the gift of knowledge and saftey, not ignorance!
thats a hard one... i have a 7 year old niece and if she asked i would tell her that a naughty man who lives far away from here is hurting ladies, but he doesnt want to hurt children, just silly ladies who get in the car with him , then use that to get the "stranger danger" message over.hope this helps
if they are old enough to ask,they are old enough to know
a man that likes to hurt others for fun
erm.. bout this question , how bout let her wacth some army war movie / james bond or... some hero movie... from that part tell her the bad guy is the serial killer .. n that sure wont scare her n also let her understand the true ... ^^ hope this would help... T.T coz in future i think i would facing the same question myself lolz
Change the subject. If she brings it up again. Just tell her she will find out when she's older. tell her it's not important for her to know. Or if she asks again and you don't want to tell her threaten to put her in the corner, or take away her favorite toy, this may curb her from asking all the time. (I never had that problem with my child) but other things she did, I'd stand her in the corner, and take away a favorite toy. This worked in stopping her from doing something I didn't want her to continue doing.
be honest with your daughter and reassure her that she will be safe. if you sugar coat it she will only find out from someone else eventually and then wonder why you lied and it will confuse her more. she may get the answer from another teacher or adult kids never give up till they get the answer they feel they need. explain to her what a serial killer is and then why they might do this and let her know she is safe with you.
unfortunately because of the media and other things, children hear about things we may not want them to have to deal with. I remember here in the States, when 9-11 happened, they were actually showing footage in some of the classrooms. to me, appalling, but it happened. I myself have a 7 yr old and when he asks questions, I try to explain to him without being too graphic. I might explain that a sex offender is an adult that does very bad things to children, or a serial killer is someone that hurts people. I try to leave out the gory details, but I also don't want him to grow up and not have a clue about the world around him either. if they think everything is all candy canes and puppy dog tails, that makes them prime targets for the evil people in the world to prey on. They have to have some sort of fear of strangers, therefore you might want to gently explain that there are very bad people in the world that do very bad things and to be very careful about whom they trust and go with.
If you don't someone else will tell her. It might not be a caring person and may be the way she will be explained will make things worse. You talk to her and explain how things work out there. I have a nine year old daughter and if there is anything i have learnt is never lie to a child. There are things i used to lie to her when she was young and tried to brush them away but now i realize i should have explained to her myself. The answers she get from outside are harsh and uncaring so please do it yourself you will find a nice way to tell her.
Dont tell her if u want her to have nightmares. Just make up something like serial killers are peeps who like to walk around doing nothing or stuff liddat.
will , first of all i think that the PE teacher was wrong about killing tigers, because telling children lies would maybe teach them that lieing is the best thing that parents or teachers can do ,why don't you tell her the truth ? i think it is better to tell the truth , because she needs to know that kind of things . i know you think that she is still a little gal but , ( epically ) girls need to know all about those things.
tell her that a serial killer is a bad man who hates every one and kills every one and that he will be busted one day , and that she should not worry about that.
I would simply define the word "serial" as something that happens repeatedly (or even look it up in the dictionary with her). Then ask her what she thinks a serial killer is, based on her new knowledge. If she knows what someone who is a killer does, she should be able to put 2 and 2 together by herself, and then you'll probably get a whole series of new questions that will most likely start with, "Why would someone do that?", to which you can in all honesty reply "I don't know, his brain must not work right, because normal people don't act that way."
If your daughter is so curious about this and wont leave it alone, then I think she might be able to process it in a healthy way. Ask her if she REALLY wants to know cause it might be kinda scary and if she says yes, then tell her. She's growing up in a different world than you did anyway. She WANTS to know you just HEARD it on the tube. So I think she might be ready for a psychology lesson. Explain that some people are sick and need help..Good Luck
tough question... I highly recommend honesty...If she ends up asking some one else and they give her more graffic details u will be sorry...Now that she knows it is something that adults know she will make it a quest for answers. I taught kinder kids at the time of 9 11 and had to deal with alot of questions. I think it is also best for kids to discuss things that may be in the media and unsettling for them... Best thing i can think of one of your other people pretty much said the same thing... Tell her that there are bad people out there that have hurt some people. Give her examples of bad people that she would know of, ie robbers. etc so she can put it togehter in her head. You dont have to get to specifics of murdering people. Honesty is always best.. Good luck...As the world is a only getting worse she will have to deal with much more in not to many years to come. make sure she feels safe also and tell her that this will not affect her in any way..
I would tell her the truth. It's a very crazy person killing certain ladies. At that point, ensure that you and the family are perfectly safe.
'I will tell you when you are older."
Just tell her that a serial killer is a bad person (man or woman) who just kills because they want to. BUT it's safe and mommy and daddy won't let anyone hurt her etc...WHY would a gym teacher EVEN open their mouths about that?! I swear school needs to keep in mind ~ they are helping form young minds...lying to them isn't the way!
age is no matter
talk sense generalise things and mature responsible answer
this is the perfect opportunity for you to teach your child about the real world and how to protect herself from bad people in general
I know we all want to protect our kids for all the ugly thing's in the world and these day's it seems like there's more then ever. But some time's we just have to give them a very little bit of the truth.
I'd just tell her that a serial killer is a very bad person and they hurt Lot's of people. With that if she's anything like my 5year old then she'll want to know if he's gonna hurt her. That's where me and my husband tell our daughter that she doesn't need to worry about that because mommy and daddy our here to protect her and that it's our job to keep her safe and we would never let anything happen to her. Hopefully this will help you with your daughter. Good Luck.
I answered this question for my 8 year old just a couple weeks ago..
A serial killer is a crazy person who kills people in a certain way, or for a reason that makes sense only to him.
Children at this age will ask questions that we as parents are sometimes unable to answer. The thing you have to do is not to avoid the issue but to address the issue.
This is the perfect opportunity to teach your daughter that there is safety in numbers. Stranger = Danger and ideas of that nature. You and your hubby made a major mistake when you told her she doesn't need to know.
To correct this error, I would sit her down and explain to her that there are bad people out there that would hurt someone else because the want to and like to for no reason what so ever.
Then reinforce that with telling her to not be out later than x o'clock and make sure you give her a time. That she should never walk alone, always with a freind. If that is not possible to not walk into areas that are dark or alleys always stay to public streets and walkways. Never ever take shortcuts. You never know where those will lead.
Super cool ---has the best answer.
just tell her the truth. It's a very bad person who kills people, and nobody really knows why they do it. But that you and her daddy and anyone else who loves her do your best everyday to protect her from these kind of bad people.
I believe a child needs to learn someday that not everyone in this world is good or bad other wise they never learn how to or who to really trust. Or how to trust there selves if they have a bad feeling about someone.
If she can read,goes to school,watches t.v. and not satisfied with the answers people have given her, she probably already has a good idea what it is. She probably just wants to hear it from you because she trusts you.no details of course.and unfortunately people remember bad times easier than good.
my first response is your child is not you, you dont know how she will react until it happens. but the reality of this is do you want her to learn the wrong answer from someone else or the right one from you? think about it our society is not perfect and she will have to deal with it sooner than you think prepare her so she is aware of her surroundings and does not become a victim.
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