How will we explain 9/11 to our children?

It fits right in with my native country's history... I am German and have no problem explaining the Holocaust to my kids. Fanatics, some religious, some not, are always a danger to society. So, for 9/11 the explanation is: There were religious fanatics who were convinced that they were supposed to kill other people in the name of their religion. They flew air planes into the World Trade Center and killed several thousand people that way. It was the worst attack on US soil.

It's my job as a parent to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself. The Holocaust and 9/11 serve as reminder what happens when you blindly follow leaders.

On the day it happened, I did not turn the television on in our home. I knew that the reality would invade soon enough as my husband was active duty Army. In the coming days, weeks, months and years, we discussed it beginning with the basics -- "Really angry people did something bad that caused a lot of people to die and now your Dad is going to go half a world away and try to restore confidence and peace to our neighbors." As they have grown, we have added details.

My children are now 13 and 11. My daughter read "Through Their Eyes," a series of monologues written by students at Stuyvesent about what happened to people in the school surrounding the event. She was so moved by the book that we read aloud from it at home and discussed it as a family. My children have both watched documentaries about the events surrounding September 11, 2001 over the years. I haven't tried to hide anything. After watching the series about the memorial at Ground Zero, we are now discussing a trip to New York.

My husband, their father, was overseas when it happened and deployed repeatedly over the next five years. I could have made up some story about why he was gone, but the truth was so much easier.

I was 23 on 9/11/01 so no one had to ever explain it to me. From that perspective, unless you knew someone who was hurt or died on that day, why does it require a special explanation? I understand that 9/11 is likely the worst thing you have seen in your lifetime (and mine as well) but there is no need to treat it any differently than any other horrible terror/war event. How will you explain the attack on Pearl Harbour? How will you explain the Holocaust? How will you explain World War II? When 9/11 comes up you tell a child the most basic facts. If they have questions you answer them. Let the child guide the discussion. If you explain it and they carry on, you've told them enough. If they have questions you answer them until they have no more questions. As they age they will ask more questions and you will spend more time on other details.

I remember the day it happened, I'm in england so when I got home from school, I turned on the TV and I just remember standing in front of the TV in complete shock... no-one needed to tell me anything, I roughly understood what was happening. & By the time I was 7 or so, when the London Underground was attacked, I knew what terrorists were.

I'm surprised your sister still to this day doesn't understand/know what happened. Does she know who Osama bin laden is? Bloody scum bag...

Your sister is likely to be in my year too...O.o

To me, it's the worst thing to me.. the world has experienced, but me personally (I'm not saying that the 9/11 didn't affect me, I feel so deeply for everyone who went through it in some way, and the heroic people involved) But for me, the worst I've seen personally is someone die right behind me, 2 years ago.

RIP all lost!

"An Islamic extremist group flew airplanes into several buildings in the US because they didn't agree with our lifestyle. Many people died and it was very sad," = what my kids (8, 5, and 3) know. My son is in third grade and will start with basic American history curriculum this year -- his teacher confirmed that 9/11 and the Iraq conflict will be covered.

My kids were born in 99 and they totally understand 9/11. Simply tell them what happened.

It stirs up more in you because you remember experiencing it.

To them, it'll be a history lesson. Just like the war in Viet Nam was history to me when I became old enough to learn about it because I was too young to understand it when it was going on.

You can't expect this one event to stir more emotion in them than any other tragic event of the past.

Lol you just tell them fools. My son was born in 2000, he's 10 now turns 11 in December. He knows all about 9/11. He even knows the conspiracy theory surrounding it. He watched "lose change" on Netflix. Also, it's taught in history class now.

Just tell them the truth. It's pretty much the same as telling them about any tragedy in history. Besides, u probably won't have to explain it. I'm pretty sure they will read all about it at school.

im 11 and my parents told me terrorist bombed a important area in new york and many people died