US EditionNavigating Conversations with Children About War, Conflict and Other Traumatic Events
Experts recommend validating feelings, limiting media exposure, and tailoring discussions to children's ages to reduce anxiety amid escalating Middle East conflict, affecting millions globally.
- To help children make sense of unfolding events, child psychologists and development experts recommend age-appropriate conversations starting from what children already know about conflicts like Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, Israel, or Sudan to listen and validate feelings.
- As children see images online or witness violence in person, their routines and sense of safety can be disrupted, as exposure via social media and news and visible missiles affect children in affected countries' emotions and behaviour.
- Practical steps include limiting news exposure for youngsters, rehearsing calm safety plans, and Save the Children advises modelling responsible digital behaviour while professional psychologists recommend caregivers prioritise their wellbeing.
- Displacement and disrupted routines are prompting urgent questions from children about when they will go home, increasing demand for psychological services and family emergency plans in Lebanon.
- International agencies including Save the Children and UNICEF provide guidance that adults need not have all answers, while practitioners Rebecca Smith and Nataliia Sosnovenko stress patience for children lacking pre-war experience.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Navigating conversations with children about war, traumatic events
Experts say adults can help children cope with the latest conflict in the Middle East by making time for conversations, validating their feelings and limiting exposure to frightening or inaccurate information. Even indirect exposure to war can spark fear and…
Navigating conversations with children about war, conflict and other t
The latest conflict in the Middle East is developing quickly and deeply complex, which can make it difficult for children to make sense of events they see unfolding on social media, hear adults anxiously discussing or are experiencing in real life. Experts say exposure to war, even if it is indirect, can affect how kids think, feel and behave. Child psychologists and development experts say talking about it may help. “Sometimes adults think if t…
Associated Press News
Navigating conversations with children about war, conflict and other traumatic events
Experts say adults can help children cope with the latest conflict in the Middle East by making space for conversation, validating their feelings and limiting exposure to frightening or inaccurate information.
When war takes an important part in the news, it is possible that our children are confronted with it despite them. How to address the question, when, with what media? franceinfo interviewed a neuropsychologist.
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