Discussing Difficult News with Young Children
by Aaron Balick
Average user rating
- Children pick up information in all sorts of ways: overheard telephone conversations, hushed whispers, etc. It's best they hear it from you, in context, at their level.
- Be child-centric; Your perception of the situation will be different from your child's; so make sure you listen from their point of view and tell them the news in an age appropriate manner.
- Children often lack context and have different perceptions of news than adults do: events can seem more dangerous and prevalent than they actually are. Put all news in context.
- Allow the child to express his or her fear and anxiety with you. They may not do this verbally, so keep an eye out for anxious or worried behaviour. Make space for children to process their feelings.
- Younger children may simply need to know that they are safe. Saying "I'll/We'll keep you safe" can relieve the anxiety without having to give more information than they require.
- Older children may have questions. Don't be shy about answering them in an ageappropriate contextualised way.
Read more of this article
Print-friendly version
