The Defense Department planned to livestream a military execution on December 3rd. This week, the president called it off. If you are a parent, I would like for you to sit with that for a minute. We came so close to broadcasting an execution to our children.
Here is what almost really happened…a livestream at the time of the execution. Clips would have then been cut and reposted within seconds. Reaction videos would have followed. Group chats would have passed it around. Do you know how many elementary and middle school kids have devices? They could have all potentially watched. Some kids would have looked out of curiosity. Many more would have stumbled across it in an autoplay, their feed, or a friend’s phone.
Hearing about something hard is not the same as watching it. A 2024 study in PNAS by Alison Holman, Roxane Cohen Silver, and colleagues found that exposure to graphic images of war and terror was linked to more distress than the sheer amount of news people consumed. What a person sees matters, not just how long they watch. Children and teens are still building the brain systems that regulate fear and judge risk, and they have less life experience to place what they see. It is reasonable to assume they are at least as vulnerable.
You also cannot unsee it once you have seen it. Some kids would have had intrusive images, nightmares, or trouble sleeping. Others would have become preoccupied or quietly more anxious. Repeated viewing can make danger feel closer than it is. And I can promise you that nothing about a live execution helps to make our children feel safer in the world.
The plan was announced, and it seems nobody in the room asked what it would do to children. Then people spoke up. Republican senators. The vice president. Seventy-two retired generals and admirals. Religious leaders. Child advocates. Parents. Professionals. Within days, the president reversed the decision. A plan drawn up without a single thought for kids was stopped because people insisted on being part of a conversation they were never invited into.
Speaking up works. I know it can feel like we are yelling into a void on this stuff…but sometimes it actually works. And it is worth it. You do not need a title or a platform. You simply need to pay attention and say the thing out loud when something is wrong.
What can parents do?
The execution is still scheduled for December 3rd, and your kids will hear about it. If it is recorded, we know it will circulate quickly. Be ready to have the hard conversation. Also, I fully believe someone is already drawing up the next plan nobody warned families about. So use the time you have.
Talk now, before it is trending. Start by asking, not telling: “What have you heard about this?” Listen before you correct. Match the conversation to the age. Little ones need reassurance and a news-free environment. Teens can handle facts, along with an honest explanation of why curiosity is normal.
Always give them an exit plan, and say it plainly: “If something like this shows up, you don’t have to watch. Close it, come tell me, and you won’t be in trouble.” Kids who fear punishment hide what they have seen.
It is not a bad idea to tighten the settings. Turn off autoplay, enable restricted or sensitive-content filters, and keep phones out of bedrooms overnight, when anxious thoughts hit hardest. We cannot scrub the internet clean. But we can be the first voice our kids hear, and the calmest one. This week proved that voice matters in rooms we never enter. Let us keep using it.
Kristi Bush serves as a national education consultant and social media safety advocate. She is a licensed social worker with greater than 15 years of clinical practice and health care experience. She attended Troy and Auburn University where she studied social work and counseling. Kristi travels nationally and has spoken with thousands of children, parents, professionals and organizations about the benefits and threats associated with social media. You may reach Kristi through her website at www.knbcommunications.com.
Author: Kristi Bush
Kristi Bush serves as a national education consultant and social media safety advocate. She is a licensed social worker with greater than 15 years of clinical practice and health care experience. She attended Troy and Auburn University where she studied social work and counseling. Kristi travels nationally and has spoken with thousands of children, parents, professionals and organizations about the benefits and threats associated with social media. You may reach Kristi through her website at www.knbcommunications.com.
