Navigating World Events – Tips for Today’s Parents

Elizabeth Hay, MD, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Beacon Medical Group, offers some tips for guiding and reassuring your children as we all navigate challenging world events.

• For children in preschool and younger, it’s best to avoid any TV or Internet coverage of the event while they’re within viewing or hearing distance. Very young children often think that multiple images of the same event are actually multiple events.
• For older children, minimize media exposure as much as possible, especially graphic images, and parents should be present for as much of this as possible so they can put the news in context. Adolescents have more access to media and are better able to put such events in perspective, but parents should still make an effort to help them process what is happening.
• Remember that children are more anxious if they see that the adults around them are anxious. If a parent is feeling strong emotions, especially fear and/or anger, they should try and deal with them out of their children’s presence as much as possible.
• Reassurance and routine are very important. Children should be kept on their regular schedules as much as possible, including school, mealtimes and bedtimes. Parents should remind them that they are safe and that there are many people who are doing everything they can to help keep them safe.

To learn more about Dr. Hay, click here.