Talking About War, Conflict and World News
The world is a scary place right now, and children and young people are looking to the adults in their lives to help them make sense of what’s going on. We’re frightened too, but its important that we know how to answer questions in ways that help children and young people understand what’s happening without increasing their anxiety, or ours.
At RocketEd, we’ve collated a range of links to resources to help anyone thinking about how to talk to children and young people about war, conflict or world news in general. These have been arranged into those for parent/carers, schools and professionals, and those for children and young people. We hope you find them useful.
For Parents, Carers, Schools and Professionals
This factsheet from The National Child Traumatic Stress Network offers information about how to talk to children about war, including how to start the conversation, understanding media coverage and how to foster resilience.
Child psychologists at Save the Children share five tools and tips that caregivers can use to approach a conversation about the war in Ukraine with children.
Here, Child Bereavement UK offer advice about how children might react after a frightening event, what to say and what might help.
Edpsy.org.uk suggest some ways to support children and young people when having conversations about the current conflict and war.
In this resource, the Anna Freud Centre suggest 7 ways to support children and young people who are worried.
The BBC offer specific advice on how to talk to teenagers about the invasion of Ukraine.
Place2Be’s Educational Psychologists share their advice on how to talk to children and young people about war and conflict, and support them if they’re struggling with the news.
Barnardo’s offer this factsheet which includes some strategies for talking to children about the current situation that will help to ease their concerns.
For Children and Young People
Childline offer advice and support for children and young people who feel worried about what they hear in the news.
Seasons for Growth have put together this helpful factsheet focusing on self-care and wellbeing during times of uncertainty, offering children and young people a list of ways they can help themselves.
CBBC have produced a clear and easy-to-understand summary of the history of tensions between Russia and Ukraine for children and young people, as well as this advice for children and young people who are upset by the news.
It can be hard to know how to talk about war and conflict with children, but Booktrust have collated this list of books that can help spark discussions and develop some understanding of the situation.
