Dangers in telling your children explicit details of war stories!

On the opposite of the continuum lays the over-discloser parent. A parent that tell every specific and explicit details of the trauma, especially when not age appropriate, can cause the child to develop high anxiety, distress, depression and  PTSD symptoms in response to the detailed images that were given.  Children who experienced extreme fear, horror and helplessness due to the detailed narrative are at higher risk of developing PTSD (Yehuda et al., 1998). Some parents may think that that a detailed story will help prepare the child to the dangers hidden in the world and by knowing every details, the child will know what to look in order to protect himself. The family’s norms and beliefs are passed down from one generation to the next. As a result the child also develops a belief that danger is creeping around the corner, no one can be trusted, people are evil and that life is uncontrollable and unpredictable. The core beliefs of a child shatter completely. Children also learn from observing and imitating their parents. Children of survivors may therefore take over some of the behaviours and emotional states of their PTSD parents (Kellermann, 2001).

Perhaps you're right. Though it was only after I had been through my 'moment' that earned my thousand yard stare was I only vaguely able to begin to understand what my great-grandfather, grandfather, father and others of their ilk had been through in combat. My great-grandfather was absolutely correct in NOT telling me or any of his family that had NOT been through combat what it was like. Age or ability to comprehend has nothing to do with being able to understand what is NOT understandable unless you have been through it. This is precisely why so many veterans have difficulty utilizing non-combat veterans shrinks - they only know what the books tell the shrink - the shrink is fairly useless to a combat veteran, unless he knows SOMETHING about what the veterans goes through.