I'll give you my honest reply. But it might not be what you are expecting.

First, I totally agree on not overloading kids. I don't go out of my way to highlight things like the Japanese earthquake. But i will answer questions if they ask them. My 7 year old just plopped onto the couch tonight and asked me about the pictures coming in from Japan. I was honest with her, but without dramatizing things. I just told her that the country had gone through a very large earthquake and there was lots of damage. I gave it to her matter-of-fact. She watched for maybe 60 secs, then went off to play with her toys. She didn't dwell on it.

I don't intend to insulate my kids from this stuff. I just teach them that it's going on - so deal with it and move on. In my opinion the nice old world of yesterday is behind us. It's tostada. Our kids will grow up in a world where they see a lot more of this stuff. My goal is to try and teach them to have a positive mindset and to be survivors. They can still be happy.

other Pete