Is the news upsetting your child? Learn how violent, accident and disaster news affects children, age-appropriate ways to talk and steps you can take at home.
The television is on at the dinner table. The main evening news opens with a forest fire, followed by a road accident, then a murder report. While the adults carry on eating, the eight-year-old has put down their fork and is staring at the screen. At night, getting into bed, they ask, "Could our house burn down too?" Many parents only realise that the news is upsetting their child after a question like this. Yet children watch the news that adults leave on in the background far more closely than we think, and they try to make sense of what they hear within their own world. In this article we look at the effect of news on children, the signs to watch for, how you can talk about it according to age, and how you can arrange the news environment at home.
Why Do Children Perceive the News Differently From Adults?
An adult knows that an accident they see on television happened in another city, once, and under particular circumstances. A child finds it hard to build this context. For children in the preschool years and the first years of primary school in particular, the following features are decisive:
- Their sense of distance is not yet developed. A flood hundreds of kilometres away may, in a child's mind, be just one street away from their own neighbourhood.
- Repetition is perceived as a new event. The same footage being broadcast many times a day can give a young child the impression that the event is happening again and again.
- They tend to put themselves at the centre. A child quickly moves on to the question "Could this happen to me too? Will my mum and dad die too?"
- The line between reality and fiction is thin. They cannot always tell the difference between an explosion in a cartoon and an explosion on the news.
- They watch adults' reactions. A parent sighing, saying "God forbid" or getting angry while watching the news sends the child a powerful message about how dangerous the situation is.
Older children and teenagers build context better; however, because they are exposed to uncensored images, short videos and comments on social media, they carry a different kind of burden.
Is the News Upsetting Your Child? Signs to Watch For
Children rarely say directly that the news has affected them. They show their feelings through their behaviour, their bodies and their play. The following signs may suggest that your child is struggling with something they have seen or heard on the news:
- Difficulty falling asleep, nightmares, coming into the parents' bed at night
- Repeated questions about a subject mentioned on the news ("Could a burglar get into our house too?")
- Avoiding things they used to do comfortably: not going out onto the balcony, not wanting to get on the bus
- Difficulty separating from a parent, restlessness when going to school
- Acting out the event from the news in their play (fire, accident or fight scenes)
- Unexplained physical complaints such as tummy aches or headaches
- Unusual irritability, crying or withdrawal
Imagine a ten-year-old girl who, after watching a news report about violence against a woman, reacts excessively when her mother comes home late from work in the evening; she keeps the phone in her hand and calls her mother every few minutes. This behaviour shows that the child has carried the sense of threat she took from the news into her own life. Here, rather than silencing the child with "You're exaggerating", the source of her fear needs to be talked through together.
Some of these signs can also appear for other reasons, independently of the news. For this reason it is important to look not at a single behaviour but at the overall picture and the timing.
Which News Affects Children the Most?
Not every news story has the same effect on a child. Some types of news target a child's sense of safety more directly:
- News in which children are the victims: Reports about children who go missing, are abducted or are harmed lead a child to identify with them.
- Events in homes and familiar places: A fire in a block of flats, a fight in a school playground or an attack in a shopping centre begin to make a child's everyday surroundings seem dangerous.
- Natural disasters and major accidents: Events such as floods, fires and mining accidents strengthen the sense that things cannot be controlled.
- Images of war and migration: Destroyed homes, crying children and people separated from their families can cause deep sadness, especially in sensitive children.
- Violence towards animals: Children who are fond of animals can be affected by such news to an unexpected degree.
In addition, the music accompanying a report, dramatic editing and repeated slow-motion footage make the content even heavier for a child.
A child's own life history also determines how strong the effect is. A child who has previously lost a loved one, been in an accident or lived through a tense period at home may react much more strongly to news with similar themes. Temperament matters too: children who are by nature more sensitive, who notice details and who turn events over in their minds for a long time may be affected for longer than siblings watching the same news. This difference does not mean the child is weak; it simply shows that they need more support and more careful language.
If the News Is Upsetting Your Child, How Should You Talk About It?
If a child has seen or heard a news story, protecting them means guiding the conversation rather than avoiding it. Silence pushes a child to build frightening scenarios on their own.
Ask questions first, then explain
Start by asking, "You saw something on the news today, didn't you? What did you understand from it?" Explanations given without first learning what the child knows, what they have misunderstood and what frightens them most often miss the mark.
Tell the truth to a degree suited to their age
For a five-year-old, "There was a fire in a house, and the firefighters came and put it out" is enough. A twelve-year-old may want more detail. Adjust the level of detail to the child's questions; do not add frightening details they have not asked about.
Make distance and likelihood concrete
Showing the place where the event happened on a map and saying "We are here, and it happened here" makes abstract distance visible for young children. With older children you can talk about how the news selects unusual events, which is why the ordinary safe moments that happen every day are not news.
Point out the helpers
In every disaster story there are also people who help: firefighters, health workers, volunteers. Drawing your child's attention to these helpers reminds them that the world is not only dangerous but also full of people who protect others.
Acknowledge the feeling
Saying "Seeing that made you very sad; it made me sad too" lets your child feel that their emotion has been understood. Sentences such as "Never mind, nothing will happen to you", however well meant, invalidate the feeling.
Protecting a child from the news does not mean hiding the world from them; it means explaining the world to the extent they can carry, while standing beside them.
Arranging the News Environment at Home
The most effective way to protect a child from being affected by the news is to review the media habits at home. In many homes in Turkey the television stays on all day, and the main news bulletins mostly coincide with dinner time. In this arrangement children are frequently exposed to heavy content, even if unintentionally.
Some suggestions you can apply at home:
- Cut down on the habit of leaving the television on in the background. Choose to watch the news deliberately, after the children are asleep or in another room.
- Keep mealtimes free of news. Dinner can be a time when the family talks about how the day went.
- Check news notifications on your phone. When you hand your phone to your child, a headline popping up on the screen or an autoplaying video can lead to unexpected exposure.
- Be careful with adult conversations. Comments made aloud while visiting others, during phone calls or in the family group chat are heard by children. A conversation held with the door open can have more impact than the television.
- Talk with teenagers about social media. Bearing in mind that teenagers follow the news through short videos, talk openly about what they watch and why, and how uncensored images affect them. Agreeing on conscious use is more sustainable than banning. For example, if a teenager adopts, as their own decision, not looking at news and current-affairs content in the last hour before bed, that rule will last much longer than a ban imposed from outside.
- Pay attention to screens on the school bus and public transport. A radio left on in the school minibus, screens at bus stops or televisions in waiting rooms can also be a source of news for a child. It is not possible to control these settings completely; however, making a habit of asking your child "Did you hear anything outside today that made you think?" helps you catch the content that slipped through.
Remember that constantly following violent news can be draining for adults too. The article on watching violent news may also offer you some guidance on this.
Practical Steps to Ease Your Child's Anxiety
If your child has been affected by a news story and seems unsettled, the following steps can help rebuild their sense of safety:
- Keep the routine. School, meals, play and sleep continuing in their usual rhythm sends the message that the world is still standing.
- Offer physical closeness. For young children, a cuddle or sitting beside them for a few minutes before bed can be more effective than words.
- Give a sense of control. After a news story about a fire, checking the smoke detector at home together or talking about what to do in a fire turns helplessness into action.
- Create opportunities to help. Older children can find a sense of meaning through small actions such as contributing to an aid campaign for disaster survivors or writing a letter.
- Make room for expression. Drawing, writing a story or playing with toys helps a child express feelings they cannot put into words.
- Observe your own reactions. Your child takes your calm as an example. If you too are strongly affected by the news, think about the people or resources you could turn to for support.
For more information on the general signs of anxiety in children and how to manage it, you can read the article on anxiety in children.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
In most children, unease caused by the news fades within a few days. However, it may be helpful to consult a professional in the following situations:
- If the fears have not eased after several weeks, or new fears are being added
- If your child persistently refuses to go to school, leave the house or separate from a parent
- If sleep problems and nightmares have been going on for a long time
- If your child holds a strong and unchanging belief that the event on the news will happen to them
- If a similar event has happened in your child's close circle, or if the news reminded them of a difficult experience they have been through before
These signs alone do not amount to a diagnosis; however, having your child's difficulty assessed through a professional eye helps identify the right support.
How Is News-Related Anxiety Addressed in Therapy?
When working with children experiencing news-related anxiety, the first step is to explore what the child has understood and how, and which thoughts are feeding their fear. With young children, child and play therapy is an important tool. Fire engines, ambulances or rescue scenes may appear in the playroom. The therapist accompanies the child as they work through themes of fear and control in this play.
With school-age children and teenagers, a cognitive behavioural approach can be used. The child learns to notice thoughts such as "This is going to happen to me too", to weigh these thoughts against the evidence, and to calm their body in moments of anxiety. Gradually returning to avoided situations in small steps can also be part of the process.
In sessions with parents, the media arrangements at home, the adults' own anxieties and the answers given to the child's questions are looked at together. Even when the news is upsetting a child, the consistent and calm support the family offers holds a very important place in the recovery process.
Frequently Asked Questions
From what age can children watch the news?
There is no fixed age limit. It is recommended that children in the preschool years are not exposed to the main news bulletins. In the primary school years, content prepared for children or news chosen together with a parent can be preferred. In adolescence, watching and discussing the news together supports critical thinking.
My child showed no reaction at all. Does that mean they weren't affected?
Not reacting does not always mean not being affected. Some children carry their feelings inside and ask a question days later at an unexpected moment. Gently raising the subject and leaving the door open is enough.
My child watched a horrifying video on a friend's phone at school. What should I do?
First stay calm and do not blame your child. Listen to what they watched and how they feel. If necessary, you can contact the teacher to talk about how such sharing can be prevented at school.
Is banning the news completely the answer?
A complete ban is often not possible; the child will hear the news elsewhere. What matters most is creating a safe environment in which your child can talk to you about what they hear, and reducing exposure to content that is not suitable for their age.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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