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How to Talk to Your Children About 9/11


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It seems like every year on the anniversary of 9/11 there are online posts telling us to "Never forget" or warn use that "Never again" should this happen. The sentiment carried in these posts is that we must never forget that on September 11th, 2001 nineteen islamic jihadists hijacked four jets and proceeded to kill 2,977 Americans, which was the deadliest attack to ever occur on US soil (including Pearl Harbor). One way to preserve history and to “never forget", is to make sure the next generation knows about what happened, why it happened, and to instill a sense a vigilance, so that this attack continues to shape our expectations about the dangers in our world. .


However, we also know that part of the public education system in America is an indoctrination away from the truth, where teachers and administrators are conveying a left wing ideology to our children, generally omitting the truth from the curriculum. Students are not meeting basic history, math and english proficiency standards, as a result of the radical left-wing ideology that has invaded our school system. Here are some examples:


*If* schools do teach about 9/11, do you really think they teach about this subject with the truth and attention that it deserves? Do schools take children to filed trips to see the World Trade Center beams and talk about them at an age appropriate level? Do they show any 9/11 documentaries or docu-dramas in class? Do they show videos of 9/11 survivors sharing their experiences? Do schools have a moment of silence? No, they are not. We cannot expect the public schools to do these things, but we also cannot fail to discuss 9/11 (or other major historical events) just because the event was too painful (or worse) because it doesn't align with a politically correct narrative.


We have a responsibility as parents to teach our children about current events and major historical events, including the event of 9/11.


The next generation needs to know our history! Below are some resources to help teach about 9/11 to your children.


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Be age appropriate

Screen content before you show your kids.


Some of the footage you find online about 9/11 may have been cleaned up; however. there is a chance you may accidentally show R rated content to them.


Protect your children's innocence by not allowing them to go online and search for videos and content by themselves. You need to screen all materials before you allow your children to view it. There are still very graphic photos available all over the internet to view whether you are searching for it or not. The internet does not know or care if the viewer is 35 or 11 years old.




Tell the Story of 9/11


The first plane hit the North Tower at 8:46 AM. After that, many people thought it was merely an egregious accident of the most terrible kind. Maybe a small plane hit the tower or a commercial flight had a technical difficulty. But then, after approximately 15 minutes at 9:03 AM, the second plane hit the South Tower and it was clear the destruction was intentional.

The collapse of the World Trade Center created a large pile of rubble that would soon be called "Ground Zero". Crews worked 'round the clock in the following months cleaning up the wreckage and locating survivors and caring for the victims. On May 30, 2002, the "last column" was removed from Ground Zero. It is on display in the WTC museum, in New York. More about this can be found here. https://www.911memorial.org/connect/blog/stories-they-tell-conserving-last-column

Not everyone was found. By 2011, a decade after the attack, only 1632 of the 2753 victims have been identified. Read More: https://www.grunge.com/771887/heres-how-many-victims-were-recovered-from-911/

For nearly a decade after 9/11 the news was filled with stories about the "the war on terror". In some sense, this war is still going on today, as terrorist organizations are still plotting to destroy America and the freedoms and liberties that we stand for.


The Day After: 9/12

After the attacks, there was a sense of unity in America. There were nationwide displays of patriotism. It seemed like everyone had a "united we stand" bumper sticker or a flag on their car. For example:


Many of us who live through 9/11 are aware of the contrast between 9/12/2001 and today.


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The 9/12 project

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31

Living History

You may have seen a Holocaust survivor speak or someone recount their experience on TV about surviving a major hurricane. If you were alive on 9/11 you are "living history" of the event, just like them. Share your story with your children. Were you far away from the attacks? Did you know someone who died on 9/11? Were you in a classroom when it happened? Do not discount your personal experience of the tragedy and convey your experiences to your children.


Here are some places you can read people's 9/11 stories.



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Visit 9/11 Memorials


Even if you cannot physically go to the memorials in New York, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, or the Pentagon, their websites offer plenty of photos, victim biographies, interactive maps and other resources to learn and teach about that day. There are also youtube videos of creators filming their visits to those locations.


  • The website is a great resource. There are a large number of photos of "artifacts" that include items belonging to the victims, the airplanes or the world trade center.

  • The museum is huge, despite it appearing fairly small above ground. It is 100% worth visiting it while in New York City.

  • Tips and comments from our visit to the WTC museum

    • The pools with the victims names is located outdoors allong with the "Survivor Tree". The museum is indoors and has an enterance fee. There is an audio tour available, a cafeteria and museum shop inside. It is very large and most of it is located underground. We felt we did not need the audio tour. My husband and I were telling our children about the artifacts and there was a lot to read and listen to without the extra headset purchase.

    • It is a sad memorial. Explain to your kids that some museums are fun; the submarine museum, the Statue of Liberty or the many colonial history museums around our country to name a few. This one is not a "fun" museum and it is important everyone knows the etiquette before you attend. Teach them to be silent and whisper if they need to speak. This is not a place to run or play. There is a lot of walking. Especially if you have small children, you may want to take a sitting break in the cafeteria.

    • Some places you are free to take photos, however be aware that some areas in the museum restrict photos and video. Also, read on their website before you go for other tips including prohibited items.

The Flight 93 Memorial

The Pentagon Memorial

Visit local memorials



Online resources


Youtube videos

  • Yes, you can see videos of the World Trade Center Towers collapsing. However, there are plenty of other 9/11 content you can utilize to share about this day to your children including:

    • Amateur and professional film footage from the day.

    • Presidential speeches

    • Audio clips of 911 dispatch conversations with victims

    • Audio clips of answering machine recordings from victims to their families.

    • Survivor stories

    • News segments of Interviews of victims families

    • The 9/11 boat rescue

Pop culture


The Naudet Brothers


Jules and Gédéon Naudet were two brothers who were filmmakers on 9/11. Their footage of the attacks on the world trade center became one of the most famous, rare and special videos in history.

In 2001, Cell phones were fairly new. Not everyone had one and they were not "smart phones". "Cell coverage" was a problem. Camera footage from 2001 or even that day was kind of rare and unique since not everyone had a camera in their pocket at all times, like we do today. If they did, the camera quality or picture was not nearly as advanced as it is today. In the world of "instaculture" there are a lot of amateur filmmakers sharing content online, This was not the norm in 2001. Filmmaking was reserved for professionals or cinematographers who were working toward the goal of being a professional filmmaker.

On 9/11/ 2001, Jules and Gédéon Naudet were filming a documentary about a rookie New York firefighter through his experiences in academy training and probationary period. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_and_Gédéon_Naudet . Their footage of the World Trade Center attacks was accidental because what started out as a film about a young fireman turned into being one of the greatest and most important 9/11 historical witness accounts ever made.

The Naudet brothers filmed Flight 11 crash into the North Tower. They were inside the north tower with their camera rolling, standing among a group of firefighters when the South Tower collapsed. They accompanied the firemen during the rescue and recovery at "ground Zero".

Miraculously, Jules and Gédéon Naudet and all of the firefighters from their firehouse survived 9/11. Their documentary is available here to view. The film is over 2 hours long. Viewer discretion is advised.



Evil exists

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9


Here are other resources that you can discuss with your children, about terrorism. Its important to convey that terrorism is still prevalent in our world, even within the United States. Talk about what happened to Charlie Kirk, or how left-wing activistists tried to assasinate Donald Trump (on multiple occasions).


International terrorism



Domestic terrorism


  • The assignation of Charlie Kirk, Assignation attempts of President Donald Trump, Antifa, Fort Stewart shooting, and BLM riots are all examples of domestic terrorism.

  • Bourbon Street killing was carried out by a Muslim.

  • Not all religious are created equal. Cults do exist Link







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Many people survived because of small reasons.


You may be living your life as normal, unaware that you have missed being in a car accident on your way to work. You may be existing today because you were saved by God. Your life has purpose. See Link Link. Talk about how these small reasons resulted in some people living through 9/11 and some people did not. Convey that living every day as if it is your last is important.



Many people working in the twin towers did not evacuate because they were told to go back to work.

See Link and Link.


Being a good steward matters.

You must take good care of what you have

Think about the manager who told the employees to go back to work. That decision cost people their lives. Would you do something like that? Imagine the grief that such a person would have lived under, had they survived.


Take good care of what you have. If you are a manager in your job, if you own anything thing, if you have children: take care of the people in your life by keeping up your relationships with family and friends and maintaining an awareness of what is going on around you.


Leadership matters. 

In your home, in your personal responsibilities, and in your job, your leadership matters. Make the right decisions, free of careless mistakes! Where ever you are, you may be the best leader in the room, even if your "title" does not reflect that responsibility. Listen to your gut. Make good decisions! Here is a video of some "good Samaritans" saving the life of a man from a car fire. Link


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