Meh, I don't buy this. What is she implying, that we should shield our children from all the bad things that happen in the world? From even knowing about them at all? That we should pretend for them that the world is some utopian paradise?

Lying to them would do more damage than showing them how the world really is. Anyways, I've taught public school, and I can say with confidence that children are *not* scared to death. They never watch the news, unless they're forced to by parents or by homework assignments, and for the most part they simply ignore anything that isn't Sports or some Teen Soap Opera.