The Swinal Countdown
There’s a phrase we share with parents fairly regularly, “paralysis by analysis.” It describes the inability to take action or make a decision due to experiencing information overload.
Knowledge by itself is not a threat to anyone, there’s no question knowledge is power. However, too much of a good thing, sometimes can actually boomerang and wind up being, well, frightening. So scary in fact, it may keep you from ever giving your son peanuts or allowing your daughter to take a two block walk to school with her friends. It may prevent you from enjoying an evening out with friends or even from taking a much anticipated family vacation. Right now the media madness is taking flight in the form of the current “Swine Flu” scare, but not too long ago we were all freaking out about Y2K, Anthrax, and even shark attacks.
This amazing technological age we now live in gives us instant access to information before we are even aware of the need to be informed. As parents we already spend a large percentage of our waking hours worrying about our kids and our family. Add in media hype to fan our flames. Then we are left to sort through the embers to see what we need to extinguish and what will eventually burn itself out. It’s a tough call to make when news outlets we once relied upon are announcing late breaking stories which could be just as easily discussed with guests on the weekly morning talk show circuit. Who can we trust? Why not start with who we know best? Ourselves.
Of course with this trust in us, comes the responsibility of decision making based on facts, not hype, but damn if it’s not a huge challenge to figure out what is a true problem and what is overreaction based on fear mongering .
Are we suggesting Swine Flu and other illnesses aren’t real? Absolutely not. Fear mongering on the other hand creates a vicious circle; a problem is reported, media swarms all over it, facts aren’t checked, stats are exaggerated, parents are inundated with scary messages and then become obsessed with looking for signs of more problems. Does this mean you stop reading the paper, watching the news or surfing the CDC’s website? No. We suggest you handle a crisis like this just as we recommend handling any tough parenting dilemma. Load up with the C. Not vitamin C, but with Calm, Care and Consistency:
•CALM: Don’t take any report at face value and panic. Take time to make yourself a list of credible resources you are comfortable going to for answers. Perhaps your doctor can recommend sites for health fact searching and your children's school may have information as well. If you are planning a vacation, contact the airlines and resort directly too.
•CARE: Other people may want to give you advice. As a parent, we’ve all gotten our share of bad advice that we decide not to follow. No need to buy into the anxiety others may try to sell you in the form of dire warnings and predictions. You live with your family, you travel with them. They don’t.
•CONSISTENCY: There are particular issues having greater impact on your family than others. A computer virus scare, while detrimental to some may not have any real consequence for you so why sweat it? Give yourself permission to stick with the plan if facts and your feelings support it.
Be it the threat of biological weapons, the largest blizzard of the decade, technological warfare, or a flu epidemic, the bottom line is to forgo the hype, try to weed through the crap to find the facts and then make your decisions based upon what works for your family. So why not say to yourself, “I’m in control. I’ve got things figured out as best I can. We’ll make the decisions for our family and the day I let fear mongering take over, is the day, indeed, that pigs will fly.”
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