Teacher died before his eyes - what would you do?

The terrible disaster that struck the nursery school in Ashdod can perhaps teach us that: with all our good will to protect our children, they will always be vulnerable to some extent, that the desire to raise them in a sterile environment will remain a wish only, and that if this is the reality, it is probably in our favor.

What happens to two year olds when their teacher stops responding to their presence?
It is likely that something very threatening and unclear wraps their mind. A two year old does not understand the concept of death but a two year old feels instinctively when he is in an event which is 'not good' or 'not right' and he feels threatened.

The role of the adult in charge, therefore, is to convey the incomprehensible and unpleasant reality to the districts of the child's conception, in a way consistent with his level of understanding. In this way the child is able to process what happened and deal with it appropriately.

Why is this important? Because when a 'not right' reality is mediated in an incompatible way to the infant, it enters him without processing and settles into him in a form of 'trauma' and traumas are a very unhealthy thing to the human soul.

I would recommend to parents of preschool children, therefore, to consult a professional to find out how to talk about the incident with the toddler. How to mediate the event without a scare on one side and not keeping it open and 'traumatic' on the other.

For other parents who heard about this case, I recommend to internalize that:
1. As stated, with all our good will to save our children from exposure to this world's bad, they are exposed to harsh things from time to time.
2. When that happens, we will not bury our heads in the sand and continue as if nothing had happened. We need to take the role of 'reality mediators' in a way consistent with the age and developmental stage of the children.
3. We understand that inevitable exposure to negative events serve to mold and shape our children's character and it is our job to help that this is what will happen.

Once, a friend of mine who is an expert in infections told me: New York City children have allergies more than children in Israel. She related it to the fact that children in New York do not feel the sand barefoot and nature as children in Israel and therefore do not develop adequate antibodies against bacteria.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!