Summary

A father reflects on the unintended consequences of his young son's exposure to mature topics through NPR broadcasts, particularly the concept of airplanes being involved in fatal accidents.

Abstract

The author, a self-professed NPR aficionado, recounts a moment when his 3-year-old son, August, heard a news report about a plane crash on their way to daycare. The child's innocent question about airplanes killing people prompts the father to ponder the impact of adult themes on his son's developing mind. Despite his initial discomfort and the realization that his son is processing complex and dark subjects, the author appreciates NPR for sparking a broader understanding of the world. He acknowledges that while cartoons, church, and classrooms are his son's usual sources of information, NPR introduces a more nuanced view of reality, which may be both enlightening and overwhelming for a child.

Opinions

The author has a deep appreciation for NPR, valuing its content for adult listeners.
He is conflicted about his son's exposure to violent and disturbing news at a young age.
The author is concerned about the potential negative impact of such exposure on his son's innocence and mental development.
Despite the concern, he recognizes the educational value of NPR's diverse vocabulary and complex topics in expanding his son's worldview.
The author expresses relief that his son is not exposed to local television news, which he implies might be more graphic and distressing.
He grapples with the challenge of protecting his child's innocence while also introducing him to the realities of the world.
The author is grateful for NPR's role in his family's life, suggesting a preference for its style of reporting over other news media.

National Public Radio

Daddy, Airplanes Kill People Too?

How National Public Radio destroys my toddler’s innocence

Let’s start here: I absolutely love National Public Radio.

NPR (National Public Radio) is where smart people listen, nod and chuckle in the synchronized isolation of their morning and evening commutes, among other places.

I first heard NPR sporadically in college in the late-1990s, then became a daily listener as a young professional in the early 2000s.

I have been a fundraiser for our local affiliate (WBHM) twice. Once as an on air personality and another time as an off air organizer.

In fact, my son, August, was likely taken home from the hospital listening to an episode of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. He is accustomed to the signature groovy NPR transition music and he hums the introduction tune for Dave Mattingly’s morning reports at 7:29 am during our weekday drive to daycare.

Recently, August and I were headed to daycare when I noticed the time at 7:30 am — shucks, we just missed the intro music for Morning Edition.

Dave Mattingly: “This is NPR. A passenger plane with 72 people on board has crashed in Nepal, killing — “

August: “Wait, Daddy, airplanes kill people too?”

I was speechless.

It wasn’t the airplanes that got me. It was the killing. And, more significantly, the adverb ‘too’.

I have questions.

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What does my 3-year-old son know about killing in general? And, when he says ‘too’ who does he believe the pre-existing killers are? What does he think killing actually is beyond a word?

I want to ask him, but I’m afraid of the answer.

Who would have thought listening to our favorite NPR station would re-introduce my toddler to something so dark? But, as I listened to more of the broadcast for the remainder of the week I noticed other strong words: Fighting. Corruption. War. Turmoil. Fired. Harm. Hurt.

For me, these words blend into all the other words, creating a more dynamic tapestry of understanding the world. Because NPR is full of positive words too. And, he repeats these word. Multisyllabic words, growing his vocabulary and sense of how world the big is.

Maybe too big, too soon.

Cartoons, church, and classrooms are his primary domains. So, new information — like airplanes killing people — is novel and it gets a larger share of attention in his freshly appointed mind.

For three days following the first listening about airplanes he would get in the car and say, “Daddy, I want to hear the man talk about airplanes killing people.”

Good Lord.

I am disappointed that something I like so much has had this impact on my child. But, I thank God for NPR.

Because we don’t watch the nightly local television news.

Imagine us cozied up on the couch watching the first 12 minutes of a local news broadcast. August might turn to me and ask…

“Daddy, will I be a killer too?”

Honestly,

Ed.

I am a poet, essayist, and strategist based in Birmingham, Alabama.

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