Appropriate Topics to Talk to a 7 Year Old About

At age 7, my daughter knew about Nostradamus, but she was interested in that sort of thing and it didn't upset her.

Different kids are capable of handling different topics at different ages.

If I heard someone opening a topic with my daughter (or around her) that I didn't think she needed to hear, I simply interrupted them with "I'd rather not discuss that topic around my daughter. Please change the subject."

I feel that when a child is curious about something, they don't bit their tounge. At this age, if there's something that he wants to know, you should tell him. You don't have to tell him everything in major detail, but enough that he will understand for the time being. Kids these days are more knowledgable than we give them credit for. Honesty is the best policy at any age.

Well, my son just turned 8 and we've covered most of those on HS request! Usually I just give the info in age-appropriate terms.

BUT I have clueless in-laws (esp MIL) who think nothing of blurting out stuff like "Yeah--that guy CUT that another guy's head right OFF with a hacksaw!" or "He shot the whole top of his head right off!" and it drives me nuts.

I've gotta say, I've actually "hushed" my MIL on occasion because she is SO oblivious to the fact that my kid is RIGHT THERE when she says something like that. She got the point. For 5 minutes, anyway. I have to repeat as necessary!

So...not sure if who this adult is, but you might want to paraphrase the facts or "hush" them as needed.

Well, your question raised some red flags with me. I have a background in child care, have certifications in child development, have a BA in Psychology and Sociology with a minor in Social Work, and lots of other life experiences to fall back on. My first thought was "That's how pedophiles get kids to think they are cool". They talk to kids like they are adults and act like they are the best listeners in the world. The "discuss" topics with them that other adults don't. They initiate the conversations and lead the child into a world where they can manipulate them into anything.

I don't think there is any situation where this person would be alone with my child again.

My kids are 4 & 8. We don't have anything that's off limits. But, these questions are initiated by the kids, not adults. If the kids are asking, they will get only as much information to satisfy. But, if someone else is initiating the conversation & you don't feel it's appropriate for your child, tell them. I completely agree with Anna Lee B. (and probably a few others).

crazy! By age 4, we had to watch the news after our sons were in bed. I was always much stricter than my sis....which created lots of issues. But I still stand by my principles!

Obviously your 7 year old is intelligent and the person ahving these conversations with him, thinks he is old enough to hear about them or speak on it. But you are the parent. This is an easy fix. When next you see this person take him aside and say I appreciate you interacting with my son but I prefer if you don't speak to him about ABor C and this is my reason. If the person is truly your friend they will understand and not bring up the topics you just nixed. If it continues then say "i don't want this discussed in front of my son" and when you get tis person alone just tell him he's not welcome anymore till he respects your wishes. The other part where he might be engaging an adult in conversation and your son is around, is most people don't "see" kids and talk thinking the kid isn't paying attention or won't understand conversation therefore ok to speak in front of him. That's when you got to tell your son" honey step out of the room for a sec or tell the adult, lets save that topic for later" That's all you can really do. My son is 8 and an only child so he is pretty mature for his age people feel comfortable talking about things that might not be age appropriate with him, or he over hears things that upset him as well. If I am not where the converstation has taken place and my son later brings it up I try to assure him everything is ok, and I will always address the person who brought the topic up, that maybe they need to not talk about certain things with my son.

If your mamma senses are tingling then there is probably trouble in the air. I agree with Gramma G. Keep your kid away from this adult. Most adults know how and when to talk around kids and even those that don't will take the advice and cues from the parents about how to behave around chldren. When they don't, don't let your kid be near them.

And by the way segway was spelled right and used in the proper context.

I have a gazillion and one conversations like that with my son (he's thought post mortems were the coolest things next to time machines by age 4, just for example). There's no standard "this age for that". An adult thinks of something "interesting" and shares it with a child. Be that how butterfly metamorphosize or baseball stats or that the hyoid bone snaps during most cases of strangulation, and sudden impact can cause accidental strangulation, so always be careful with your neck, okay kiddo? No. I don't care if the tie is above your hyoid bone, because these arteries still need to get blood in and out of your noggin. Your brain dies, you die. Grazia.

That said... I've cut off MANY "Hey did you know ____" or thoughtless adult conversation around him. If I don't head off another adult or parent, how would THEY know I'm not cool with it?

The words "over the top" come to mind. Or-"I'm sorry you have to have a discussion with a 7 yr old to make you feel comfortable with inane topics".

I sometimes say cheerfully "Oops! Little/young ears are listening. New topic!" If I act like 'oh, we all forgot little so and so, and here we are, blabbing away', I think it gives people a moment to save face. This draws less attention to the situation than if I said "could you please not talk about such and such"... which is a good conversation to have, if you can, at another time. If you have a repeat offender, let them know prior to the outing "You know, Johnny's been really concerned about death and scary things happening. Those conversations are upsetting for him. He'd love to tell you, however, about......" and give them some pointers.

I do edit myself quite a bit, but I have family members that don't. Some I love, but cringe inwardly when they speak around my son. I just try to answer any questions he has later on, but yeah, I totally understand your point. Just yesterday at a restaurant, two guys at the table next to us dropped so many F-bombs in the space of an hour, I was surprised my ears weren't blue when we left. I'm not a prude, but I was hoping Santa would bring them some new words this Christmas.:) The seemed to have run out of expressive language other than profanity and 'people screwing people over' stories. ugh.

Tell the person to discuss age appropriate material or they can be excused.

Nanc

Gamma G...it's called "grooming".

I am all about editing with kids. Yes they are curious, but they also don't realize that some answers to things- or unsolicited information- may be frightening. That's our job to know/predict and censor for them.

But I'm also not good at directly saying things to people. I don't want to make other people feel bad, as long as I'm protecting my kid. I'm more likely to say somewhat lightheartedly "hey, maybe let's skip this topic right now!", That usually works, but sometimes if they don't get the hint I'll repeat it. If it doesn't work then, I'd have to be more direct because they obviously didn't get my subtle hint. But I've never had to do that.