Do You Think 8 yrs Old Is Too Young To Learn About The Holocaust?

[randi1978]

About 2 months ago, my 8 yr old daughter asked me What's a concentration camp?  She apparently overheard mention of one in the school libary by some older students.

I explained briefly a bit of how these bad people took over Europe and decided that a bunch of other people were "different".  The bad people put these other folks into work camps called concentration camps.

More questions.  Why?  Who were these bad people?  Why were these others seen as different?

My history is rusty as hell.  So, we went to the libary and got some books, documentaries (found some child friendly ones) and even fictional tales about the camps and the Holocaust.  She soaked it all up, staring in fascination at these books, shows and even comic books (found one about the origin of Magneto from X-Men, and it's about the Auschwitz camp).  I even found her Maus (a must read graphic novel).

She couldn't believe what she was reading and seeing.  How so many people were hurt or killed simply because they believed differently.  I explained that it is well documented through all of history that this happened often and was no exclusive to the Nazi's and the Jewish people.

"What did they do to kids?" she asked.

"The same as the adults...if you couldn't work, you were killed."

Long story short, she took all of this newfound knowledge and told her classroom, her art teacher, my mom, etc.  Everyone keeps saying that she was far too young to know the gorier details of the Holocaust.  My logic is that if she is old enough to ask, she is old enough to get a straight answer.

FTR, she has not seen the gorier documentaries or films.  I found kid-friendly stuff at our library and Maus was the only "mature" thing she read.

What would you do if your kids asked?  Do you think she was too young as well?

[mamaof2angles]

Depends on the maturity of the child, I personally knew about the Holocaust by age 5 BUT being born in Germany probally didnt help

[louzannalady]

No, I don't think you are wrong. I agree. Honest questions deserve honest, age appropiate answers, which is what you did. She is just learning about this, so there is some fascination. It will wear off in a couple of weeks and she will be on to the next new thing.

[emeraldangel20]

i knew about it at that age

[LoriLou75]

I dont think it is too young at all. Kids will encunter hatered and should know how vicious it can be.

[MrsApple]

At that age I already knew about it and had read several books about it,including The Diary of Anne Frank.

[MissLeanna]

I grew up being educated about it. A good family friend was in aushwitchz so I knew a lot.

[eema.gray]

I think you handled the situation very well.  She asked some very mature questions, she deserved to get straight up answers.  Now if you had gone and had her watch something like Schindler's List or The Gray Zone, that would be different.  But the materials you found for her sound perfectly appropriate.

[toopicky429]

No. My kids are 6 and 4, and know about it. My husband's grandma was taken from her family when she was 15 to a work camp. She talks about it all the time.

[jessil83]

i would have done the same thing. we had the talk about martin luther king and why he's special when she asked why there wasn't school that day and my daugther is 6. we discussed segregation and prejudice. we even wandered a bit into slavery when we discussed it. if she asked i answered in a kid friendly way based on her and what i knew she could understand and handle.

[xRockaBrittanyx]

I think you did exactly the right thing. Though you probably should have talked to her about not just sharing it with everyone, as a lot of other kids may not be ready for that yet.