Parenting in the Age of UFOs

The level of mainstream media coverage of UFOs also known as UAP in military circles and possible alien visitors in the Western world has been unprecedented in the past few weeks. UFOs have been discussed on 60 minutes, MSNBC and other major US, Canadian and European news sources.  My heart goes out to parents of younger children exposed to this who might become worried or need some guidance as to what to make of this subject. And with military pilots and politicians taking this topic seriously in the mainstream news it is impossible to just dismiss it as crazy or sweep it under the rug so to speak. Historically UFOs have been a very controversial subject for some, and it may be understandably difficult for some parents to deal with the subject.

I do not work professionally in children’s mental health, but I am a parent of three and a grandparent of one and I’m a UFO researcher and a UFO experiencer, so I’ve faced having to discuss this with my own kids. I hope that if I share from my own experience it might help someone else who might be struggling with this.

My own children have been raised to be open minded and not discount information, new ideas, or opinions simply because it may not fit the accepted norm or maintain the status quo. However, they have also been taught to utilize their own common sense, and question things. This includes the topic of UFOs, and the paranormal, which can be scary.

Children in general tend to gravitate towards paranormal subjects, particularly extraterrestrials and their spaceships. Who didn’t love that Scooby Doo episode with the invading space aliens? And despite the taboos surrounding taking the subject seriously many adults are also drawn to UFOs and the paranormal. The evidence of this is abundant within western pop culture, which is fueled by consumer interest. Unfortunately what the majority are exposed to as entertainment often does not reflect the reality of the UFO experience, history nor subsequent investigation by those whom take this topic seriously. Therefore it is important to explain to children with an avid interest that yes, UFOs by definition – unidentified flying object exist, but the percentage of cases where the UFO turns out to have a natural or explainable cause tends to outweigh those that do not.

While not every report does provide a genuine mystery, there are those that do defy easy explanations. I know I’ve lived it!

Children should be taught that there are many good people who have come forward as witnesses of UFOs including scientists, police, astronauts, and military pilots. These people have no reason to lie about their experiences, and in fact coming forward with these experiences could potentially cause them more harm than good. This holds true for most of us who face ridicule as a result of society’s prevailing attitude towards the subject, even now with so many revelations coming from from US military personnel.

Occasionally witnesses are further insulted by those who would insist on giving their experiences mundane explanations for what they’ve witnessed such as drones or planets or weather balloons even when these easy explanations do not fit the facts of what they have experienced first hand. Or witnesses are silenced by so-called skeptics that cyber-bully or mock them. The more that we openly talk about the subject of UFOs and educate ourselves in regards to it the more likely that those who do come forward will not have to face ridicule of this kind in the future. At least that is my hope. This is something that no one who has been brave enough to share an experience should have to endure.

When asked about “aliens” I spoke to my kids about the high probability of extraterrestrial life existing in our Universe. This does not mean that we have absolute proof by scientific standards yet, but most people including scientists believe we are not alone. This is something I firmly believe, even if I do not know if the UFOs are a result of ETs. Is this life intelligent? Have they mastered space travel? Do they visit? Are they responsible for genuine UFO sightings? Again we, have no absolute answers. However, there is enough empirical evidence collected that suggests something unexplainable is going on and visiting aliens may be a possibility and there are sincere people who do believe this to be the case.

I have always been open to speaking with my children and listening to them. They knew of my interest in UFOs from a fairly young age and I would reassure them that even if I did not have all the answers to whatever is behind the UFO phenomenon, it has not harmed us on mass, and that as their Mom I would always do everything in my power to protect them. And I’m pretty powerful 😉

I have always been very honest with my children about any question they may have, and just tailoring my answer in a way I felt they could understand at the age they were at when asking. This was as true of sex as it was of UFOs.

Its very important that kids know they are loved and protected especially when discussing the unknown, and potentially scary things. If a child shows an interest in the subject the best rule of thumb is to empower them by exposing children to the realities of the study of UFOs and encouraging them to read about them with you, books are awesome right! And this may also spark interest in sciences such as mathematics, aviation, astronomy, physics, etc. All very positive and worthwhile pursuits!

These are two books that I found particularly helpful when my kids were young

The Mystery Of UFOs
by Judith Herbst, & Greg Clarke
Ages 9-12
Atheneum; ISBN: 0689316526

Almanac of Alien Encounters
by Eric Elfman, & Jeff Westover (Illustrator)
Ages 9-12
Paperback – 168 pages (June 26, 2001)
Random House Children’s Pub; ISBN: 0679872884