Children learn about the world through a variety of sources, including parents, teachers, friends, and the media. Although news gleaned from television, radio, or the Internet can be a positive educational experience for kids, problems can arise when the images presented are violent or news stories touch on disturbing topics. Reports on subjects such as natural disasters, child abductions, homicides, terrorist activities, school violence, or a politician’s sex life can teach kids to view the world as a confusing, threatening, or unfriendly place.

How can you deal with these disturbing stories and images? Talking to your child about what he or she watches or hears will help your child put frightening information into a more balanced and reasonable context.

How Kids Perceive the News
Unlike movies or entertainment programs, news is real. But depending on your child’s age or maturity level, he or she may not yet understand the distinctions between fact and fantasy. By the time a child reaches 7 or 8, however, what he or she watches on TV can seem all too real. For some youngsters, the vividness of a sensational news story can be internalized and transformed into something that might happen to them. A child watching a news story about a kidnapping or bombing might worry, “Could I be next? Could that happen to me?”
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