Should you talk to a child about war? This is what you think

The answers vary.

Talking to child about the war

• Sylvia: “Yeah, sure, here they are 11, 8 and 4 and of course they see a lot on TV or on their phone… I talk a lot about it with the two oldest… they are afraid, afraid that the war will also come here and that we must flee too. I try to reassure them as much as possible and that everything will be fine.”
• Yvonne: “My son is 6 and I shield him from it. No news if he’s there. He can’t read yet, so that helps. I don’t want to scare him unnecessarily, please let him remain a child as long as possible… I think it’s scary enough myself.”
• Charlotte: “I’ll leave it at that for a while. He’s 6 and she’s 4. Just creates fear and panic.”
• Roxana: “My son asked because he sees this on the TV and then I told him about the past that there was also war and people fought for our freedom and then we went to the American Cemetery so he could see this. I don’t think kids need to know everything, but I do want to teach him that it’s not obvious that we have it so good right now.”

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How do you talk to your child about the war in Ukraine? †

• Linda: “Our son is 6 and our daughter almost 3. But we don’t watch youth news, news or other things about war. I know our son would be very upset about not being able to sleep at night or thinking about it all day. They are still too young for it.”
• Anita: “Our 8-year-old son certainly has questions, I try to answer as honestly and as accurately as possible. Serious subjects also require a serious approach, it is war, it is bad. I don’t make it anything other than what it is.”
• Clarissa: “Yes, my 9-year-old son was in total panic last week! We have explained everything and we are now shielding him as much as possible. If he comes up with questions himself, we answer them immediately.”
• Annelies: “No, they are 7 and 5 years old here. We think they are too young. We watch the news when they are in bed.”
• Monique: “I think it’s important to talk about everything that concerns my son, from the minor annoyances at school to the more serious subjects such as the war.”

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