UFOs and Children

I was interviewed by "Eye In The Sky" radio program out of the great state of Louisiana. Subject: "Ten Reasons Why UFOs Are Extraterrestrial" so if u have some time please listen and if you like the show subscribe" Thanks JC.
http://paranormalradionetwork.org/2010/01/23/eye-to-the-sky--the-ufo-synopsis-guest-joseph-capp.aspx

The UFO subject can be a very scary subject. Most of us understand the UFO ET presence is one of the most important subjects you could address with your children. This is not academic to me; it is happening right now. We live in a two family house and the children downstairs have adopted us as another set of grandparents. One of the children, let's call him "David", is the most curious child you will ever meet. Everything is a question and he really wants the answer. He is three years old and I know this is an inappropriate time to tell him anything about UFOs and aliens, but God willing, I will be there when he's older. There are certain families in which the cat is already out of the, bag so to speak. In those cases restricting the information you tell a young child is also important.

My wife and I have help raised the young girl across the street. She was over our house constantly and just a wonderful addition to our lives. She went away with us on vacations with my grandson so it was and is a very close relationship. She did an assignment in school about who was the woman she most admired and it was about my wife. She was about 11 years old when she started to question me about some of the material I was reading on UFOs. I kind of blew it by being completely honest about the subject and giving her more details than I should have. When I saw the fear in her eyes I realized I had not been perceptive enough about where she was emotionally. She and I joke around now about the subject but I won't press it. Children beginning to go through puberty have enough problems they don't need to think too much about aliens. My grandsons were different. They had an experience together with my son and his wife. It was up in Maine as they were driving down a road at night. They called me the next day about it. They came around a curve in the road and there, hovering above, was a diamond shaped object with some "sparkles" coming off the skin. The sighting lasted over 30 seconds. The whole family got a good look at it and finally the object just winked out. My son told me it was like it collapsed from the outside inward. Now we have the cat out of the bag by personal experience. I suggested to my son if our youngest gets too curious to keep it as light as possible.

I have been thinking about this for the past few days so I went to the best expert I know about children; my wife. My wife has had twenty years in the NY school system she had been thoroughly trained in childhood development and this is how I broached the subject with her.

You have a family who believes in UFOs and Extra-Terrestrials. Maybe the parents had experiences, or just fervently believe through their own analysis, there is a presence here. They have young children so when would it be appropriate to expose these children to this information?

Her first answer was simple but ultimately true: "It would be different for different children."

I then went on and pressed her on the possible developmental signs one could look for before you thought it was time to tell them. One item she brought up is it is the thinking by childhood specialist stoday that you shouldn't read Grimm's Fairy Tells to your children till they are at least seven. That was interesting to me because at the end the fairy tale you can always quiet the anxiety of your child by assuring them it is not real. The UFO subject is a little different because they are all too real. My wife is a very big on being honest with children. Most common sense people will admit they don't know for sure what these entities are doing here so it is the unknown that is the scariest part in this subject. This I believe has to be considered before you broach the entire UFO ET subject and all its complexities to them. So, as I continued to pumped her brain for more information, she explained that for some children it may be appropriate to explain the subject in their teens years say; thirteen. If they do a little reading on their own, they might come across some very scary subjects including abductions. These questions should be answered in the most appropriate manner without unduly frightening the child.

However what happens when younger children start to ask questions about UFOs …what do you do?

From the conversation I learned that if your child asks you questions about UFOs at a young age give them the answer without elaborating.

Example:

"Mommy, what are UFOs?:

"David, UFOs stand for "Unidentified Flying Objects" these are objects that fly in the sky and no one has found out what they are. If they don't ask further questions leave it there.

If a child ask you further question try and keep them short and evade the dark side although being honest. How could you do that?

David asks, "Daddy, what do people think UFOs are?"

"David, some people think UFOs are people like us from other planets."

With my David there would be a flood of questions; one of which would inevitable be, "Can they hurt me"? This of course is troubling. I brought this up with a clinical therapist I know and she mentioned how most parents will inform their children quite early about God and the devil and hell fire. For these parents telling their young children about religious belief are as important as telling them about bad people… it is done for survival.

I was in the car with David the other day. I like sitting in the back seat with him and listening to the millions of questions he asks. Saturday, we were taking him to baseball practice. I was sitting with him when he came out with the statement, "I don't like people!" I replied, "David, why don't you like people?"

His answer, "Because they can hurt you?"

Of course, this all stems from telling him never to go with strangers and is absolutely necessary as a responsibility of the parents. No one likes to scare their child at such a young age but there is no choice. What I did was tell him the truth: "Some people are not nice but most people are good and wouldn't ever hurt you. If your mommy or daddy or your family bring someone for you to meet, then they are OK and you don't have to be scared."

Conversing about UFOs is different. Basically, it is not about survival; it is about information so the child can keep an open mind. The young girl from across the street is frightened of the UFO subject now she mitigates these uncomfortable feelings by making jokes with me and I go along, happily.

So I believe, the less information the better, until they are old enough to handle it. Of course, in their teens they will be exposed to UFOs and ETs and all kinds of scary stories so I believe it is our place to bring some perspective on any of these theories. Overly frightening a teen may turn them off the subject completely.

Some who read this in the UFO community will say, "I have no problem informing my children about ETs because they are all loving and good". However many, who seem to believe this way also believe in the evil government which is doing horrible things in the name of ETs. Is that not just as scary?

No matter how you slice it, telling a child about an Extra-Terrestrial presence is complicated and scary and one that should be thought out carefully.

The most common sense answer I know of is to wait until the child starts asking questions and remember, as a responsible parent, not to elaborate more than you think the child can handle.

Joe
UFO Media Matters
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Of course for a few children the ET subject is academic:
The Children Of Africa