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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

What age did you begin to let your DC watch the news?

47 replies

MissusLindt · 26/01/2009 09:23

There was a thread yesterday about inappropriate images shown in church. While most posters responded that they felt the same as the OP, one poster said that she felt it was important not to shelter our DC from the realities of the world.

In theory, I totally agree with this concept but have difficulty deciding when the right age is to let the children watch the news.

My 6yo DD is pretty sensitive and I would not like to upset her by some of the stories on the news. 4yo DS is more laid back and cool, but he did have nightmares recently after watching a scary cartoon.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I do not remember the blood and gore images on our screens when I was young. The most shocking images that stick in my mind from my childhood are the ones of the famine in Ethiopia.

What do you think?

OP posts:

mommy6 · 26/01/2009 09:35

When dd1 was 7yrs old (she is now 18y)i remember her reading the paper.For a moment i was going to take the paper off her,because i didn't what her knowing about the evil things that happen.I don't think she understood some of the things she read,like rape,but she knew it was wrong.She asked questions and i answered as truthfully as i could,without upsetting her.She has grown up into a happy young lady with no harm to her.But i think watching the new may be abit worse than reading about it.
Perhaps news round would be better,because it more suited to children.I don't think we should stop children knowing thing happen in the world that are not nice.

wannaBe · 26/01/2009 09:44

I think children need to grow up with an awareness of what is going on around them.

We have always had the news on the radio in our house, and as ds has got older (he is six now) he has asked about things said on the news and I have explained to him.

I don't think it does to shelter children from the realities of what is going on in the world.

ohdearwhatamess · 26/01/2009 09:50

Ds1 (2.9) always has watched or listened to the news (and even asks for it - he is his father's son). Not sure how much he takes on board. Definitely wouldn't stop him watching as he becomes older - very important imo not to shield children from the realities of the world.

Original poster

MissusLindt · 26/01/2009 10:20

What about the story last week, the Belgian creche where a man killed one staff member and two children?

I can remember my nephew having nightmares for months because he heard on the radio about the sniper in Washington killing people and warning that they were going to start shooting children next. He was perhaps 6 or 7 yo at the time.

How do you explain that to children, that it is a horrible thing but not likely to happen here? You cannot lie and say that could never happen to us, but do they worry otherwise?

OP posts:

MilaMae · 26/01/2009 10:23

I read somewhere that kids of today are bombarded with far more horrendous images than when we were little. The coverage is far better with News24 etc,the reporters get up closer, people are far more frank in interviews show more emotions etc.

In other words when watching the news kids are practically living it but without the skills of dealing with it that adults have. There is far more depression suffered by children these days and watching the news is a cause factor being considered.

Childhood is so short and there is so much out there to worry about that I personally intend to shelter my dc from the news for as long as possible. My dc 5,5 and 4 would be traumatised by a lot of it anyway.

This isn't to say I shelter them totally. We read a lot of books about the environment and other issues but again I think you need to be careful not to go overboard. DD saw a trailer about polar bears dying(on Milkshake I think due to global warming and got quite upset.

I put on the Barack Obama coverage because I thought it was historic and will do so with other important events but it was wall to wall Obama stories so no other nasty images flashing up without warning.

snowleopard · 26/01/2009 10:25

Like some others we have always had the news on with DS around - but I will quickly flick channels if I think something's upsetting. DS (now 3.7) generally ignores it but he did start asking questions about the "broken houses" in gaza, and I did take care to avoid him seeing that terrible news from Belgium.

There was one other thing that upset him once - a story from San Francisco a few months ago where a tiger had escaped and killed someone at a zoo - that did give him bad dreams and we realised some of it is best avoided. But generally, I'm happy for him to learn about what goes on in the world. He was extremely interested in that NY plane coming down on the water for example, and we talked a lot about how the pilot had done it and how everyone got out and I think that was fascinating for him, not upsetting.

Katw3kitts · 26/01/2009 10:25

Newsround on Cbbc is a pretty good introduction to watching the news.

Original poster

MissusLindt · 26/01/2009 10:36

Must get our Sat dish fixed so that we can watch Newsround together. I did not know that it was still on, I can remember watching it as a child. Are there any other childrens' news programmes?

OP posts:

Katw3kitts · 26/01/2009 10:42

Not sure about any others !

Newsround had been brought a bit more up to date and there's no sign of John Craven !

I heard a radio 4 show some time ago about how they (newsround)treat sensitive material and its really carefully put together.

catMandu · 26/01/2009 10:46

I still don't let my 9 yr old watch the news. If there's something that it likely to be talked about at school ie. whats-hername the girl who was kidnaped by her mother, then I'll talk to her about it. I think she's just about old enough to start watching it now.

I do always have radio 4 on in the background, but I the dc's must tune it out as they never comment on anything.

Gorionine · 26/01/2009 11:02

I watch the news on TV, if the dcs are arroud, I do not get them to leave the room. I think it is ok to watch the news in my company so I can (try) to answer any question they could have, I would not put them in front of the news on their own though, even Newsround (which is indeed a really good introduction to news). But I would never let them watch soaps for exemple.

I remember when I was little, my dad used to work until late and we used to have the family evening meal in front of the news. I do not remember being scared by it but I do remember developping quit soon the knoledge that I was very fortunate to be born where I was. I would like my Dcs to developpe the same awarness.

hannahsaunt · 26/01/2009 11:04

My 8yo and 6yo are expsosed to R4 all the time, including the news in all it's glory. You would think that they're not listening but they do absorb it and every so often ask pertinent questions. I like it, it's a good way of dealing with big issues and them getting exposure to the world - even if it's just so they know who the prime minister is. That said, we don't watch the news and if we did I might be more circumspect.

Gorionine · 26/01/2009 11:05

Sorry, forgot the ages
dd1 9 1/2 very interested in the news, able to form opinions about what she ears and sees.
ds2 7 1/2 very interested, asks a lot of questions about everything
ds3 4 not really intetrested yet
dd4 2 not interested at all

ClementFreudsGreatestAdmirer · 26/01/2009 11:11

i am unsure. i have v robust, gory-minded children who are fascinated by horror. i never watch the news with them on, but not as a conscious decision, we just never have anything but kids channels on when they are around. they hear the radio and sometimes comment on it. they'd never dream of looking at my newspaper - too much like hard work.

i however was a terribly anxious child, allowed to read paper/see news etc as youngest of many, and spent years and years using my vivid imagination to devise more and more sickening things that might happen to me/my family, based on snippets gleaned from the paper. i have gone on to be a phobic/anxiety prone adult, needing lots of treatment to be able to function from day to day.

my brain says - expose them (carefully), its all part of life, my fear says - don't provide fuel for future nightmares.

What do to for the best? No idea. continue as is, possibly.

Othersideofthechannel · 26/01/2009 11:18

MissusLindt, thanks for starting this thread.

Agree the images on TV are very upsetting.

DS is nearly 6 and v sensitive so we never watch the news on TV but he listens to it on the radio in the car and asks questions.

Original poster

MissusLindt · 26/01/2009 11:24

Perhaps introducing them to the news on the radio is a good idea then, it is less graphic and frightening.

It certainly depends on the child. Something my neighbour said recently has stayed with me. She is an artist and she mentioned that she is very visually orientated, pictures and images stay with her much longer than written or spoken words. DD is also very artistic so perhaps she takes in the visual images more intensely as well.

OP posts:

Cies · 26/01/2009 11:38

I agree with others that Newsround is a great introduction to the news.

However it's still a good idea to watch it with them if possible. I remember being around 8 yo when AIDS hit the news big time. I totally got the wrong end of the stick and thought they were talking about hearing aids. I got very confused at school and was laughed at by my more with-it contemporaries.

Gorionine · 26/01/2009 11:42

Yes, watch it with them is a must! i would not dream of letting them loose in front of the news!

mysterymoniker · 26/01/2009 11:47

we've always watched the news, never thought about it in a formal way but always have - youngest likes newsround (she is 9)

Smee · 26/01/2009 12:50

We don't watch the news until after DS (4) is in bed, so I haven't thought about how he'd react, but he quite often sits and looks through the paper with one of us and asks to do so. Some of the pictures are quite brutal, but sometimes they're beautiful too. In The Guardian there's a double page picture in the centre every day that he's always into looking at. One day last week there was a picture of the over crowded courtyard of some flats in Shanghai and he spent ages pouring over it and working out how people lived. Sometimes I find myself softening explanations if I think a picture's too much for him, but most times I don't. I don't want to wreck his innocence, but kids surprise you by how much they can make the world make sense. Allowing them to be curious and aware that there's a huge world out there can never be a bad thing.

RockinSockBunnies · 26/01/2009 12:52

DD (nearly 8) enjoys Newsround. I've never prevented her watching the news or looking at newspapers, although I'm slightly unsure how to answer questions in relation to paedophilia (the Gary Glitter coverage prompted a series of questions). I just tried to explain that he hurt children ("but how did he hurt them, Mummy? What did he do?" )

In general though, I don't see any point in shielding DD from things in the news. Firstly, we live in London, she's aware of terrorism, 7/7 and 9/11. Secondly, she's astute enough to realise that things such as mugging and petty crime will be of most significance in North London, rather than serial killers etc. Also, though, DD has never been bothered or traumatised by things she's seen or read. She's remarkably pragmatic and not especially sensitive like that, so I don't really have a problem with her knowing what's going on.

I suppose you just have to be aware of your own DC's sensibilities and tailor news appropriately.....

Tamarto · 26/01/2009 12:57

I've never stopped them.

TheLadyEvenstar · 26/01/2009 14:47

I watch the news pretty much all day everyday so ds1 see's it before school and when he comes home and ds2 he is too young to understand what is on but it is on all day.

I don't think it is right to shelter dc's from the realities of the world we live in....doesn't do them any favours IMO.

cory · 27/01/2009 09:22

Mine are not watching yet and they are 12 and 8. I don't suppose I would stop dd (12) if she wanted to, but have told her that I would prefer her to get the news from the paper.

I don't want to shield them from knowing about the realities of life. We talk a lot about what is going on in the world, have just explained the Middle Eastern crisis to my 8yo. But I do think watching real people bleeding to death on the screen can breed a sense of helplessness and overload that doesn't necessarily help them. I wouldn't want them to be hardened to real misery, because they've seen so much of it from an early age.

Jux · 27/01/2009 09:45

I have always watched the News at 6 and then at 7. DD has always been there; I'm not sure what age she started paying attention, but mostly, even now at 9yo, she ignores it and gets on with her own stuff while it's on. Sometimes she'll listen and ask questions. We explain the situation (we have no problems with 'propagandising' her). Sometimes she needs a bit of reassurance (yes, there are bad people around, but most people are nice - they just don't talk about them on the News).

Despite all this, the silly girl still wanted Tony Blair as a boyfriend and wanted to invite him to supper (she's gone off him at last thankfully!). I said she could cook.

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