you guys are bang on. we don't want to overload him and make him worried or preoccupied about all the bad things that might happen, but we don't want to insulate him either. he needs practical, real information, targeted to his 7 year old brain and emotions. in some ways we let him drive the conversation, (i.e, questions about what's happening around the world) but we're proactive about teaching him too. (i.e. fire safety) it's a fine balance.

yes, we do have a very specific plan for a household fire, and we do run drills regularly. we're using that plan, combined with our bug-in plan, to address the possibility of a nuclear accident.

he just changed schools, and though he's still in the same school district, this one is farther from one plant, more in the middle, so the evac plan may be different. both schools run nuclear evac drills twice a year, and fire drills monthly. the principle of his new school has promised me a copy of their nuke plan when school resumes after march break. by then, i'll hopefully have a new job and we can redraw our family plan.

i guess what i'm stuck on is finding a balance between informing and preparing him, and overloading him and making him overly worried.