How to Help Your Kids Handle the News
By Sandy Schroeder
Exposure to news in our world often seems to be wall-to-wall. We are all affected, but our children are especially vulnerable.
Blanket Coverage
According to a recent foundation study, 65 percent of American children live in a home where the TV is on 50 percent of the time. In 36 percent of the homes, the TV is on all of the time.
However it works at your house, you may be seeing changes in your children as the world seems to spin faster. Sometimes disaster or crime news can cause a child to have nightmares, become overly sad, or avoid crowds. Local crime news can cause children to feel like they are in danger even in their own home.
Kids may also respond to disturbing news, acting out with assertive behavior, lagging a little in school, or having repeat stomachaches.
Assessing the Impact
Older children may not react as much, but they may also be confused by the violence and unrest. When you talk with them you may be surprised about how much they have absorbed without really understanding it.
To lower the news' impact, it’s important to monitor what is seen and limit exposure wherever possible. Then take the time to talk with your child about the news they are seeing.
When a natural disaster or major story of violence hits, be sure to discuss it one-on-one. It may be surprising how garbled the news is in the child’s mind, or how impacted he or she really is.
Diversions Are Good
For young ones, going for a walk or heading to the park can be a good time to sound your child out on his take on the news. For older kids, it could be a time to discuss news sources, and look for books to learn more. They might turn a topic into a report, which would give you a chance to continue talking about it.
When major news hits, it might be wise to lower the stress for the whole family, planning a favorite outing, or creating a new one to absorb everyone’s energy. This might be a great time to skate, hike or bike.
For your younger ones, it's important to let them know they are safe. When you talk to them about the issue, you may discover they are also worried about grandparents, aunts, uncles and pets too. Be direct as you talk about safety, but don’t dwell on the details.
Overall, use your own readings to see how your kids are doing. Some children react more than others. Continue to monitor what they are watching, and use diversions whenever they seem needed.