6 year old wanting to know about war

[Nicelunch25]

Hello, my 6 year old son is very interested in war and I wondered if there were any age appropriate dvds to help him understand it without scaring him.

It's not something I'd encourage.

Tough subject to get right level with small kids - probably better to have a chat and answer any questions they have rather than plonk them in front of a dvd.
Perhaps they would be interested in horrible histories - they have books and the tv series but will probably need you to read with them

I mean...it's men killing men historically isn't it? And then men committing mass murder of innocent people in more recent times. Explain that 'nicely' if you can.
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I don't think it's inappropriate to help an interested six year old to understand a bit more about war, as long as it's not romanticised.

My DD was given some money by her grandfather just before she started in Reception, to buy a book. She chose the Usborne 'See inside' lift the flap book about the First World War. They do the Second World War too, and no doubt other suitable books are available.

I agree with Wonkylegs that Horrible Histories would fit the bill as well.

I would probably want to understand where the interest is coming from, especially given current affairs it could be in response to something he/another child has seen/heard on the news.

Other than that I would agree that horrible histories or usborne lift the flap are a good start. There is also an Operation Ouch special about WW1.

It's an okay topic. Children are interested in what they hear about. My son (who is 8) is very interested in second world war planes and warships. His grandparents bought him a book about them - when I am back (we are still on holiday), I'll take a photo if you like.

Ds was very interested in WWII from about age 4 onwards.
There's far more to war than being violent. Think of rationing, evacuation, building air raid shelters, dig for victory that sort of thing.

There's plenty of things out there. Ds is especially interested in the planes so there's lots of information out there. He still finds the ins and outs very interesting. There's a fair number of DVDs with things like the history of the Spitfire. However the History Channel is perfect for that age group. Ds' favourite was the Bismark. He must have watched that weekly for a while.

Thank you all. Will look into some of those recommendations.

Seeing my 5 year old son was interested in weapons, fighting and monsters, I introduced him to Greek mythology-Trojan War. He was delighted with this and was soon on to series of books called Beast Quest. I personally think they are horribly repetitive after you have read the first 20 or so (we read the first 30 books together), but they got him in to reading in a big way.

Now in Year 7, my son has read hundreds of books on battles, wars, weapons, monarchs and history in general. Watched many related movies, been to a large number of museums and historic buildings (this does make holiday destinations a lot easier) and watched too many topical You Tube videos, many of which are absolutely fantastic.

For quite some time he was using an app where Hannibal was fighting against the Romans and he now seems to have a near Encyclopædia knowledge about how all the battles of the Punic wars were fought.

As I write, he is swotting up on some old papers for a history Competition that he will be entering this Friday: www.townsend-warner-history.co.uk/Townsend-Warner/Home.html

I would suggest Horrible Histories is probably a bit mature for him as my son still reads them now if we come across a new one.

There will be a number of DK books that will be suitable, as will many many you tube videos.

I don’t regret nurturing his interest in these topics at all.

My grandchildren are at primary and secondary schools with numerous children who have come from current war zones. This must be a subject addressed by plenty of teachers. Ask the school for resources?

Is there a particular one he got hooked up? WWI and WWII is normally mentioned at a latter stage but I know DD was hooked due to a book about the Blitz.

We always taught her the facts, according to her understanding. We are Germans and we wanted to ensure she doesn't see the whole of Germany as a warmachine designed to destry the rest of the world. We talked about my grandad dying just before the end of the war and my mum and DH's dad being sent way to due danger of bombing, very much like the London children during the Blitz.

I personally don't like Horrible History,. they are great of catching interest and the facts are not bad but they way it is portraied just doesn't feel right to me, too much comedy. We went ot our local library and got lots of books in their history section about all kind of conflicts and DD learned a lot. I must admit her bing in a meeting with a concentration camp surviver at y6 was tough and the book she chose had lot of very intense pictures in it. So do look out what your child chooses.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a 6 year old learning about wars. It is quite obvious there are children his age and younger going through the hell of war right now. It isn't ancient history. Even though I don't let my DC watch the news, they sometimes watch Newsround at school or on their tablets and so they know about the horrors of war. For us we get First News and many discussions happen through that. That could be something you do weekly anyway. Helps with current affairs and reading. Sometimes there are stories about war and refugees. A good place to start might be the BBC's website. You'll be amazed by the number of high quality, age-appropriate articles they have on many many subjects.
Good luck.

Our son (age 6) enjoys the story of the Trojan Horse and we have watched the Troy film. We have also watched a couple of black and white WW2 films like Heros of Telemark.

I'm not keen on romanticising / advertising war / fighting / guns but I think if they are interested its best to talk about it.

Could you start by telling him little stories himself? Do you have a grandparent who experienced WW2, aspects like rationing, or could you show him your local war memorial and tell him what it is about? My dd started to ask such questions when she was about 5/6 and it's a double edged sword. It made her historical curious and we had horrible histories and operation outch: in the trenches on loop (trench foot anyone?). She is 7 now and we listened to the news on the radio and watched the news about the current Iran crisis on TV together and discussed the reason for terrorism alert, especially as we live part-time in central London and are due to fly to the middle east next week and had to discussed that we might not be able to go. She understands the facts, and the importance of being vigilant, but woke up last night with nightmares that our home was bombed. Not sure how to answer any such question honestly without worrying a child. Especially as their question will be: 1) is there a war today? 2) Is there any danger?