Should parents protect their children by hiding from them the harsh realities that are happening in the outside world?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Should parents protect their children by hiding from them the harsh realities that are happening in the outside world? ". Your opponent's style: A calm and wise opponent

I think parents should always be honest with their children as the latter should be prepared for the realities they face outside.

You're setting these kids up for trauma, not preparation. There's a profound difference between age-appropriate honesty and dumping adult anxieties onto developing minds. A seven-year-old doesn't need to know about school shootings to be safe - they need fire drills and trusted adults. When you expose children to harsh realities before their cognitive and emotional frameworks can process them, you're not building resilience, you're potentially creating anxiety disorders. Child psychologists have shown us that premature exposure to adult concerns often leads to hypervigilance and learned helplessness, not strength.Your approach ignores the staggering reality: 11% of children ages 3-17 had current, diagnosed anxiety [1]. This isn't about building resilience - we're witnessing the mental health crisis of our children unfold in real time. The data shows anxiety and depression among children increased 27 percent and 24 percent respectively from 2016 to 2019 [1], even before the pandemic hit. Children need protection from information overload, not exposure to every harsh reality adults face. When we burden young minds with adult anxieties about climate change, violence, and global crises, we're not preparing them - we're overwhelming developing brains that lack the emotional regulation skills to process such complex fears. The wise parent filters reality through age-appropriate lenses, building trust and security first, then gradually expanding their child's understanding as they mature.