My brother Tony might be thought strange by some, but his house is FULL of reading. And he doesn't protect his kids more than he thinks needful:

"'You're taking a five-year-old and a four-year-old to their grandmother's funeral?! That's awful! Aren't you afraid that your boys will be traumatized?'

'No. Death is part of life. I've explained that to them.'"

"'You're taking your children hunting with you?!?! You'll traumatize them!!! Aren't you worried? Don't you CARE??'

'I'm far more worried that they'll end up thinking that meat comes in neat little packages, all wrapped in plastic.'"

These are word-for-word conversations he had. The results:

The youngest was at the funeral with me. At the cemetery, he was holding my hand and he turned to me and said, "Why are they going to put Grandma in that hole?" "Because we can't keep her around any more. Besides, that's just her body -- Grandma's done with it and has gone elsewhere." "Oh. Then it's a good idea."

Oldest Daughter, the first time she _helped_ to clean out a deer: "It was cool and really, really interesting!" She'll graduate with a BS in Biochemistry next Spring and head off to grad school.

Youngest Daughter, last Fall: "It was great. I think that I want to go into Veterinary Medicine, and now I know more about animal anatomy."

No, don't give 'em more than they can take...and be with them the whole way, because that's your job as a parent. But don't shield them, either.

Books and reading can and do help.

(If you want to shield them, hide the television.)