Many of us have been affected by the current events in Ukraine.  As adults, we not only have to process these events ourselves but simultaneously figure out how to talk about it with the children in our lives.  Children who have been directly affected by war will need psychological support far beyond the scope of this article.  We wanted to focus on how to talk to children who have been exposed to war second-hand, for example via news, social media, family or peer connections. 

In this situation, the first thing to remember is that kids are resilient.  Most children who are exposed to war second-hand will be able to process this information without significant negative emotional impact.  Having said that, when talking to children about a topic as difficult as war, adults should consider the child’s individual characteristics.  In this article, we will examine how children understand the concept of war and discuss what to consider when talking to children about this difficult topic.

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