[She Knows It]

I don't know whether it's a new thing, or it's just that people become hardened and more cynical as they get older. It's not merely news overload either. We're bombarded with violence and death across every media.

When my oldest son was about 6 or 7, I made him watch a documentary about the holocaust. My ex went ballistic and said it wasn't suitable for kids, that it would affect him badly. I told him that I wanted it to affect him badly, and to feel the horror, fear, anger and injustice. If he'd waited a few years and learned about it in school, he'd just have been "So what? 6 million dead jews years ago." It's only having those emotions that will stop us turning a blind eye to the next one.

I worry about kids never feeling those things. Being exposed to not just news, but games and films that depersonalise death and suffering is numbing their feelings. It's almost as if it's becoming the norm for them to carry a knife and stick it through the first person who gives them a funny look.