How to explain to children about Russia

[newardrobe]

Dc aged 8 and 10. The past couple of days 10 year old has been feeling sick, scared to leave my side, crying not wanting to go in school, which is very unlike him; he usually loves school, learning and seeing his friends. I'm certain this is to do with what he is seeing/reading about russia. How can I reassure him? Feel so sad for them but never dealt with anything like this before

My dd is 10 and school have been great covering this and finding age appropriate ways to discuss, It was like covid the similar reaction from my dd..my advice turn the tv off,The constant rolling coversge would drive anyone insane let alone children who cannot rationalize, Go out do fun things,show then your world is secure and unchanging for them,it will help. Distract. Emma Kenny did a mental health pod cast this week its the monday edition on fb and you tubeHave a listen to that,she did a segment on how to explain to kids its really helpful and she is a psycologist so what she said makes sense,Its so difficult. Good luck with it.

What's he seeing and hearing about Russia?

It's UKRAINE where the distressing things are happening

What's he seeing and hearing about Russia?

You know what I mean

@Iputthetrampintrampoline
Thank you, school haven't covered anything about it yet. I'll have a look at the Emma Kenny podcast

I saw this post on Facebook recently and thought it was quite a good way of explaining where the UK stands in all of this.

What is he seeing and reading? A 10yo shouldn’t have access to material that you’re not aware of. You can’t control what other kids say, but you can control what they see. Does he have a phone? First you need to stop him from finding his own information - it’s not appropriate.

Then sit down with him and actually find out what he thinks he knows. Some of it might be nonsense. Like - there actually isn’t one single big red button on Putin’s desk.

Use child-targeted sites like Newsround only for facts.

Turn his focus to positive action - perhaps donating pocket money. At least show him the positive actions of others - talk about how borders and visas work, and how that’s changed for these refugees. Explain that NATO means other countries acting together, and explain that there are other non NATO actions too - like economic sanctions in Switzerland.

Avoid grand claims like it’s really far away - afterall, it isn’t. But do show a map and explain that the focus of fighting is in that region. Depending on how he’s taking it and his previous knowledge, I’d show him how close Syria is, and show him that he came through that unscathed.

Give him space to share his fears without shutting them down. It’s OK to say, “that worries me too.” Sometimes the aim isn’t to take away their worry, but to help them manage it and live with it.