How Will Children Fare in the Apocalypse?
by Kari Carlisle
How will children fare in the apocalypse?
Realistically, not well. Of course just how “not well” depends on the nature of the apocalypse and how extensive the devastation to humans and to the planet. It’s hard to see where a child would have an edge over an adult in any apocalyptic situation.
If aliens invade, they will either be non-discriminating between old and young, or they may see children as an effective and compliant workforce as Hitler did (see TNT’s Falling Skies ). If a zombie plague hits, children will be easy targets, and there will be zombie children running around eating the living (see World War Z ). Okay, I really don’t think aliens and zombies are what the human race has to worry about. I believe natural and/or human-caused events are a greater concern to be prepared for.
In any case – EMP, meteor, nuclear war, plague, take your pick – children may find themselves alone, traumatized, possibly injured, and lacking in the basic tools of survival (food, water, shelter) as well as survival skills. Sadly, most will not survive such a scenario.
One thing is certain. In a devastating apocalypse, children will be the key to the survival of humanity. Though a real apocalypse is no laughing matter, in the new Fox comedy The Last Man on Earth , main characters Phil and Carol are committed, much as they dislike each other, to making as many babies as possible to repopulate the earth. Of course, Phil comes to the realization that their babies will have to have sex with each other to make their goal a reality. The apocalypse is not pretty… or moral.
Any children who do survive the initial apocalyptic event and find themselves in an ongoing, post-apocalyptic survival scenario will have to learn quickly who to trust, how to protect themselves, what is safe to eat and drink, how to simply make it through to the next day. One misstep and it’s over.
In C. Henry Martens’ Monster of the Apocalypse Saga , children are among the few survivors in a series of devastating plagues. With gritty realism, Martens weaves tales in which children are heroes and villains, victims and survivors, and coming of age is determined by nature, not a dead legal system.
How will your children fare in the apocalypse?
If you are reading this post, and you have children, I hope I haven’t freaked you out. Perhaps because I have never had children myself, I can think and write about this topic with some detachment. If there is a call to action I wish to convey, it’s not to drop everything and start training your children for an imminent apocalypse. I would rather you focus on teaching your kids basic self-reliance and personal confidence, attributes that will go a long way toward giving your kids an edge in surviving their childhood, let alone an apocalypse.
Acknowledgments: I would like to thank my mother (rest in peace, Mom) for teaching me how to pick my battles and that I have tremendous potential. I would like to thank my father for teaching me the value of reading and learning. And I thank both my parents for teaching me independence, even though it gets me into trouble all the time.
www.readmota.com
How will children fare in the apocalypse?
Realistically, not well. Of course just how “not well” depends on the nature of the apocalypse and how extensive the devastation to humans and to the planet. It’s hard to see where a child would have an edge over an adult in any apocalyptic situation.
If aliens invade, they will either be non-discriminating between old and young, or they may see children as an effective and compliant workforce as Hitler did (see TNT’s Falling Skies ). If a zombie plague hits, children will be easy targets, and there will be zombie children running around eating the living (see World War Z ). Okay, I really don’t think aliens and zombies are what the human race has to worry about. I believe natural and/or human-caused events are a greater concern to be prepared for.
In any case – EMP, meteor, nuclear war, plague, take your pick – children may find themselves alone, traumatized, possibly injured, and lacking in the basic tools of survival (food, water, shelter) as well as survival skills. Sadly, most will not survive such a scenario.
One thing is certain. In a devastating apocalypse, children will be the key to the survival of humanity. Though a real apocalypse is no laughing matter, in the new Fox comedy The Last Man on Earth , main characters Phil and Carol are committed, much as they dislike each other, to making as many babies as possible to repopulate the earth. Of course, Phil comes to the realization that their babies will have to have sex with each other to make their goal a reality. The apocalypse is not pretty… or moral.
Any children who do survive the initial apocalyptic event and find themselves in an ongoing, post-apocalyptic survival scenario will have to learn quickly who to trust, how to protect themselves, what is safe to eat and drink, how to simply make it through to the next day. One misstep and it’s over.
In C. Henry Martens’ Monster of the Apocalypse Saga , children are among the few survivors in a series of devastating plagues. With gritty realism, Martens weaves tales in which children are heroes and villains, victims and survivors, and coming of age is determined by nature, not a dead legal system.
How will your children fare in the apocalypse?
If you are reading this post, and you have children, I hope I haven’t freaked you out. Perhaps because I have never had children myself, I can think and write about this topic with some detachment. If there is a call to action I wish to convey, it’s not to drop everything and start training your children for an imminent apocalypse. I would rather you focus on teaching your kids basic self-reliance and personal confidence, attributes that will go a long way toward giving your kids an edge in surviving their childhood, let alone an apocalypse.
Acknowledgments: I would like to thank my mother (rest in peace, Mom) for teaching me how to pick my battles and that I have tremendous potential. I would like to thank my father for teaching me the value of reading and learning. And I thank both my parents for teaching me independence, even though it gets me into trouble all the time.
www.readmota.com
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