Nightly News

Images on the nightly news of contemporary events can be disturbing to young children. Pictures from earthquake disasters, fires or battlefield scenes may raise uneasy questions or stimulate difficult conversations.
 
Try this:

• Never avoid a child’s questions regarding something that has been observed on television. Answer in a simple, direct, and understandable manner.
• Ask your children questions about what they observe and how they felt about what happened.
• Try to determine if they have any concerns or fears. Many children, particularly younger children, tend to personalize issues and wonder if something bad will happen to them. For example, after viewing an earthquake, your child may ask you whether something like that could happen to their house.
• Don’t be reluctant to limit TV viewing of such programs, particularly for younger children. Some of the images on television are simply too graphic and intense for children under five years of age to handle.