AIBU to want Year 3 given discussion after watching Newsround?

[jesst81]

My 7-year-old daughter (Year 3) is really struggling with anxiety at the moment and I’m wondering if I’m being unreasonable here.
Her grandfather passed away about five weeks ago, which I’m sure is playing a part. We’ve been doing a lot of talking at home about feelings and grief, and generally she’s quite a sensitive child. She also loves learning about the world and is very curious.
Recently the school have been showing Newsround to the class during the day. I understand that it’s aimed at children and that the school say it’s appropriate from age 6+, but lately it has been covering things like the war in the Middle East and the UK’s involvement. My daughter seems to find this really worrying.
The issue for me isn’t necessarily that they watch it — it’s that there doesn’t seem to be much context or discussion afterwards. From what I understand, the children watch it and then move straight on with the day. My daughter comes home with lots of questions and worries that she doesn’t fully understand.
Her anxiety has escalated quite a lot. A few weeks ago she might have had the occasional wobble, but now she’s having what I’d describe as anxiety attacks several times a day. It’s really distressing to see.
I have spoken to the school and her teacher, but the general response has been that it’s age-appropriate and that they try to talk about it later in the week if they have time. I completely understand teachers are busy, but I’m struggling with the idea of children this young watching news about war without the space to process it or ask questions.
Am I being unreasonable to expect a bit more explanation or discussion around it for children this age?
Just interested to hear how other schools handle this or whether anyone has been in a similar situation.

And Grange Hill was waaaay more traumatising through the Zammo heroin years!

Oh my goodness, when I was 10 I read Z is for Zaciariah, of mice and men and the hand maids tale. Zammo was doing smack @ 5:30pm and we were " running the world" 10 year olds aren't babies.

"Explain that wars sadly happen and that this one will not effect her or you apart from prices may go up."

That's not really the point though, is it? What an awful message to give a child. "We're alright, Jack. Might get a bit tight on the readies, but we're not going to suffer..."

Some children have a very acute sense of injustice and take these things very sensitively.

It's all very well saying parents should discuss it, but a) parents might not have seen it and b) the child has had hours to think about it by the time they get home.

We watch newsround in my school and lately have had a number of complaints from parents about the recent current affairs being shown to their children.

I usually let the children watch newsround whilst having their snack/ milk and we discuss snippets of it whilst they are finishing their snack. Lately a few of the children have been worried about bombs in our area and have got quite upset watching it that I’ve stopped showing for a while. Yes it’s important for children to be aware of current and topical events but it’s also important to be mindful of any anxieties it can cause.

Id encourage you to watch it with your child at the end of the school day, ask what she thinks about it and reassure her. That way she can share her worries with you.

Children’s mental health is ‘in the pits’ right now because we don’t stop bloody talking about their mental health to them. Newsround is perfectly suitable for key stage 2, and some parents really, really need to learn how to speak to their children about their worries rather than pathologising it into anxiety.

No it’s because they’re handling a huge amount pictured in continuous glorious detail- global warming, wars etc alongside handling technology even adults struggle with.

There have always been these issues and often far closer to home. IRA bombing. Poll tax riots, acid rain, high profile child murders were all a feature of my childhood news watching.

I think it's very hard for school to have a discussion around these issues. Outstretched will have their own views on topics like war and want to teach their children what they believe, not what the teachers believe. Newsround will give you some facts but it's when opinions start coming in (Why is there a war? What's the impact on people in the middle East? Should we get involved?). Y3 children will have a lot of questions, some may have talked with parents and hold all sorts of (in my opinion) dodgy Trumpist beliefs and tell the to everyone. I don't think it's a topic for school to deal with at such an impressionable age.

Trusay what about the silent generation who lived through the blitz as children and/ or were evacuated ? Or for that matter the children currently livimg Iran ,Gaza or Ukraine ? Children need to have an understanding of what is going on in the world.

Heaven forfend that children should be exposed tp a range of views/ beliefs whatever next ?

I grew up in the 70s and 80s and my parents in the 40s/50s. We had bees a couple of times a day and I was in bed for one of them, the footage was completely different, nothing my hand or as detailed and as consistent. I wasn’t contending with the world burning, continual wars in graphic detail, online abuse and the world revolving round screens. Both my parents and I find handling life today harder than anything we did before and 1 of my parents fought in the Falklands and was at continual huge risk from the IRA and the other endured bombing as a child.

We seriously need to start recognising how damaging today’s world is for children . I also think Newsround needs more care in years 3/4, not so much 5/6.

But this is newsround. It is protecting them. It is an age appropriate filtered version.

Bless her. I was the same. Worried myself sick at that age about world events. It was the time of those “don’t die of ignorance” AIDs adverts. I was quietly convinced I had AIDs and was going to die as too young to understand how it worked..

I’m aware and have seen it however I do think it needs to come with support in year 3/4. Some children watching it in school won’t be aware of all the issues it covers and it gives a snapshot with not a lot of time to process any of the stories. I think it’s lazy teaching to just switch it on and not discuss any of it. Kids can watch it at home if their parents so wish, school is for learning not passive watching.

It’s a sign of the times that what is happening in Iran is just seen as a meh issue for 7 year olds to process.

I guess this is an age old questiom, what to do with a sensitive impressionable child. Personally I don't think shielding them from anything remotely upseting is the answer. Did your parents talk to you about what AIDs was and how it was transmitted ? Did that help ? I agree the adverts were terrifying.

Well I thinl you have Micheal Gove to thanl for that one.

No. It’s completely unnecessary content, they don’t need it!

Adults have a tiny amount of control about how they live their lives, when we see the news, we can talk about it, campaign, vote. Kids can do nothing about it at all. They’re given this worrisome content with no power.

It’s damaging and unnecessary, I send my children to school to learn the curriculum, not for politics and news. Parents of schools who show it need to be speaking with the schools, I know I would. If no luck, talk to the governors.

My son is in year 2 and he watches Newsround at school. I think it's a good resource for children and he has learnt about lots of different things from watching it. I mean this kindly but I think you should focus on helping your daughter with her anxiety, rather than expecting the school to manage this for you. If she is having anxiety attacks from watching age appropriate content, she may need support from CAMHS

I still say the 9/11 attacks triggered my lifelong on/off troubles with anxiety. Of course this could have happened at any stage but I would have preferred it not to at 8 years old! My mother watched the news constantly during my childhood, I think it was around the same time we got sky news so the advent of 24 hour news. It was just horrific to watch and I was terrified they would attack the UK. Also started to struggle to sleep.

I agree some contextual conversation around it would be helpful. At 7 they are incredibly impressionable and sensitive children will potentially become anxious without that. If nobody is there to reassure them, their mind will go into overdrive as mine did.

A war being videoed up close in glorious technicolour following alongside wars in Gaza and Ukraine with what children will be picking up on top at home and in the playground is not something “ remotely upsetting”.

It’s staggering what we expect kids to just get on with now and berate them for if they show human reactions.

I was a child in the 70’s and exposed to all sorts of things I shouldn’t have been! I remember being worried about Northern Ireland, and then scared when the bomb went off in Warrington. It’s something you should take seriously, and I’d be asking that she does something else rather than watch it.

😮

Don’t be ridiculous.

I’d be more worried about children not giving a shit re footage of endless war, global warming, illnesses and all the other things Newsround covers. If parents screen it at home they can follow it up with discussion. If it’s shown at school there should be time for discussion. If there isn’t questions should be asked as to what it’s being used for.

Education is politics and news.

My DC is in year 3 & they watch newsround everyday at school. Im happy they do as it tells them what is going on in the world in an age appropriate way & mine have never had an anxiety or concerns about what they've seen.

I think the issue is that your child is already anxious & this leads to more anxiety at certain news topics. But the answer isnt stopping everyone else from watching something they enjoy & learn from. But I'm not sure they would be able to facilitate her leaving the class for 10 minutes either as an adult would have to go with her & that may not be possible - she would also return to class & feel left out of what they watched & ask her friends about it anyway but then would miss the context that newsround gives.

I think the way forward is to carry on helping her with her anxiety & explaining things when she asks.

Good luck