Scary National News & Helping Kids

When the Headlines are Scary

You may be doing everything right but kids can still hear about news from friends, especially when it’s scary news like assassination attempts. Regardless of politics, this kind of news can really impact kids. To them, a president is the parent of a country. When something happens to a parent, it can rock a kids’ sense of safety.

Some things you can do to help them navigate the news:

• Do your best to limit what your kids hear. No tv on in the background. Read your news instead of watching. If someone starts talking about it with your kids around, give them a pointed look and ask to talk about it later.

• Listen to and notice your kids behavior, more than you might normally to watch for signs that they’re feeling unsafe or stressed.

• Encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings. Echo back what they say, so they feel heard.

• Be honest for their age. Keep it simple. You might even talk about it using superheroes and villains. The conversation you have with your older child might have more details than with your younger one.

• Share your honest -- but age appropriate -- feelings. If you need to process, do so away from your child. With your kid, share in a way that helps them see scary feelings happen and what you do to feel better.

• Talk about the many people working to keep everyone safe. Share positive actions being taken by others to address the situation.

• Do other activities. Mindful distraction when you’re spinning on things is OK for a little while. You might even do something that allows you to give back to the community. This shows that there are good people everywhere. Far more good people than bad.

I shared these points on LinkedIn.

Parenting and mental health expert Dr. Marcie Beigel, who does the When Tech Goes Sideways conversations with me, has a YouTube talk from October 2023 that’s focused on talking with kids about war. The theme is different, but the concepts still very much apply.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions on this or navigating other difficult topics.

Thanks for your ongoing support of Betweened’s mission to provide smarter, more mindful screen time for families.

Blue skies,
Carla