Talking to our children about global issues can have daunting consequences. Children under the age of about 11 years are often too young to understand or differentiate between real, imaginary or consequences these issues cause.
If you have a younger child that asks about a story they have heard in the media, broadly telling them what occurred and how far away it is to ensure they do not feel it is going to hurt them or their family is important.
Once children become older and hear news more regularly they will become better informed on the issues facing the world. It is helpful for parents to explain to their children, once older, the events that occurred in their world when they were younger, what affect it may have had on them, if any, and how things pass with time and adjustments are made.
Children under high school age often have little concept of global issues and may find it difficult to understand even when talking about news stories. When a child is under high school age, less is best, as they just do not have the capacity to understand the enormity or severity of global stories. While they may hear mum and dad discuss issues, keep it as an adult discussion, not child discussion.
As the child develops they may cover many global issues at high school, discussing events, politics, history and current events. Parents can discuss events and issues with their high school child if the child displays awareness of the event. If the child however does not show any interest then allow them to remain detached from the issues. Their interest will adjust as the child develops and able to understand and discuss what is occurring in their extended world.
When discussing global events with your child, allow them to ask the questions. Once you respond always check in with them to determine their understanding and feelings over the topic. It is very important to understand how they feel and what it is they are thinking. We must be mindful of their interpretation of the event and this is often age dependant.
When a natural disaster occurs and is plastered over every media channel and publication our children are going to be aware it happened. When our older children ask questions it is necessary to be honest and explain about the events that occurred. Discuss events that may have occurred when you were a child; cyclonic events, floods, fire, that occurs from time to time. The outcome while devastating for some families does not impact directly on others. Assist the child to understand the event while keeping a disconnection.
Of course there are children that will take these devastating events into their hearts and be touched by them. Support the child, place it into perspective and always look for a positive outcome, strength and resilience for the victims and discuss how people learn to move past such events and live in the now and plan for their future. They can also be encouraged to make a donation of volunteer goods or services so they feel they care contributing and assisting the victims.
We live in such a small world; news reports occur almost instantly and are no longer edited as they were previously, they are now watching in real time. Our children are more informed now than ever before.
How then do parents protect their child from these global events and world tragedies:
– Allow the child to openly discuss the issue or event
– Speak age appropriately with them and provide only information they request
– Avoid details that may instil distress, particularly to younger children
– Openly answer questions and ensure you have a positive comment at the end
– Discuss severe issues with your partner away from the children, there is ample time for a child to learn about their world
– If your child displays great interest in an event, support them to find out more information but safeguard them from information they may not be ready to discover.
Follow Karen: Website