The Katie Chronicles: Bad Guys Edition

One of the most difficult parts of parenting is helping kids understand that there are people in the world who hurt others intentionally. It's challenging to help those sweet, trusting little souls understand enough to make them reasonably cautious but not so much that they become anxious and paranoid.  Last night, Katie got up teary and unable to sleep because of hearing a dinner time discussion of one of Ethan's upcoming assignments about slavery.  So I did what we all do:  I took her back to bed and snuggled with her, talking through her fears and how we'd handle certain "bad guy" scenarios. I reassured her that she was safe in her home and that her daddy and I look out for her all the time. Then I went back in the living room and prayed: Please God...please let that always be true.