Nursery World - It can happen here

I am writing in response to Julian Grenier's feature 'In terror' (27 September), for I felt that some of its emphasis was extremely misplaced. Yes, of course, the tragic events in America, with which the feature was most directly concerned, happened a long way away, as do most of the large-scale tragedies whose visual impact we see on our televisions and in our newspapers.

Yes, of course, the tragic events in America, with which the feature was most directly concerned, happened a long way away, as do most of the large-scale tragedies whose visual impact we see on our televisions and in our newspapers.

However, I was horrified to read the remarks in the article, 'You should reassure your child by saying, "I will make sure that you are safe"' and 'Again, you could reassure your child that nothing bad is about to happen to them'.

While I agree that children of all ages should be offered as much reassurance as possible, this should always be tempered by reality. Nobody can or should offer a child a cast-iron guarantee that nothing bad will happen to them, for when that promise cannot be fulfilled their sense of betrayal will be all the greater.

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