1.10 Talking with Kids about Current Events
Talking with Kids about Current Events
Thursday, January 10, 2019, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Clisby Library
There’s a lot going on in the world today, and the news can often seem scary and overwhelming to kids. But pretending big things aren’t happening won’t help them learn to understand the world around them. Join us for a conversation with Miquon‘s social worker, Miranda Featherstone, about how to talk to your kids about current events.
This event is Adults only.
Email Charlotte with any questions about these events.
Event Recap
Radio and TV news is overwhelming for most children, especially young children. The newspaper, however, can be a great opportunity to expose kids to the news. It can be previewed, and even graphic images are not accompanied by frightening sounds or words, or moving images, all of which can be more frightening for kids.
Different children will have different levels of tolerance for upsetting news and information. Age-by-age guidelines may be helpful, but you know your child.
Similarly, different families have different values around what is important to discuss, and some of us may feel we don’t have a choice about sharing things connected to racial, religious, or gender identities, just to name a few examples. That said, each challenging news story is an opportunity for you to articulate your values and beliefs to your kids.
While it’s wonderful if you can present upsetting news in a relatively composed manner, being authentic with children about our own grief and sadness has real value, as does showing them that people survive grief, trauma, and sadness.
Emphasize for your kids not only what you as a family can do to “help,” but also what others are doing and can do. Trauma is often defined as something that overwhelms our ability to cope and removes our sense of agency; when we can take action out of trauma we are able to move through it.
