What Next Care and Feeding | The World Is On Fire. How Do We Tell the Kids?
10 snips
Jan 20, 2026 
Mary Harris, host of the daily podcast What Next, joins Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen to tackle the challenge of discussing current events with kids. They explore strategies for balancing transparency and protection, emphasizing the importance of asking questions and using experiences to foster understanding. Mary shares insights on setting boundaries for news exposure and combating misleading information. The group also highlights empowering kids to be active helpers and the role of family rituals in teaching civic engagement. It's a candid conversation every concerned parent will appreciate!
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Start With Questions
- Ask children what they already know before explaining news to them to correct partial or misleading impressions.
- Use open questions like "What do you know?" and compare notes to build understanding.
Values Over Information Control
- You cannot fully control the information kids receive in school or online, so transmitting values matters more than filtering everything.
- Constant value conversations and course-correcting your behavior are the best parental levers.
Jason Reynolds' Whale Metaphor
- Mary took her 11-year-old to a Jason Reynolds talk to model living well in hostile environments.
- Reynolds' whale metaphor showed children you can survive a hostile world by "getting the air you need."