Guest post: “Why we need to teach our kids how to make sense of the news.”

[NicolaDMumsnet]

In a world filled with a constant stream of negative news, it’s no wonder parents find themselves questioning the impact on their children. Managing our own relationship with the news is challenging enough, but how do we support our kids in making sense of a world seemingly filled with endless problems?

Children are exposed to the news from an early age, whether we intend for them to be or not. Because of this, teaching our little ones to navigate the news has become a crucial parenting challenge. As parents, we all want our kids to understand the world and their place in it, but there’s surprisingly little guidance on how to help them do it in a reliable and empowering way.

As someone who has spent a decade researching the news and its impact on mental health, when I had kids I was acutely aware of what stories they were hearing and how I could help them make sense of them. The first and most important approach I take with my children, and the children I now teach, is how to be a ‘solution seeker’ in a world that seems to have endless problems.

Being a solution seeker means actively looking for stories about people who are making a positive impact and improving the world. I’m not just talking about feel-good stories; I mean real news that shows progress and explains how problems are being solved.

Before we go in search of solutions, it’s important to know why. Children need to understand that the news has a negativity bias. There is even a term for it – “if it bleeds, it leads.” The news reports on the worst things happening in the world at any given moment, giving priority to stories of problems, conflict and violence, and ignoring stories of solutions, progress, and development. This can give a very distorted and incomplete picture of the world. It can also make us feel anxious, helpless and hopeless.

Because the news rarely offers solutions, we must seek them out ourselves. Finding these stories is crucial because, not only do they give us a more accurate picture of what’s happening, they also give our kids something really important – hope.

Hope isn’t just believing in a better future; it’s also believing that our actions matter and can make a difference. People with high levels of hope can deal with bad news in a positive way. They come up with ways to cope and are more likely to take action, even when things are tough.

On the flip side, if we feel hopeless, we’re less likely to make efforts to make things better. The problem with lacking hope isn’t just feeling sad. It’s that, without hope, we won’t actively work towards positive changes in our lives and the world.

At a time when we are facing enormous problems, we cannot afford to deprive ourselves or our children of solution stories. These stories don’t shield our children from the world’s problems. Instead, they allow them to see what’s possible in their presence. By offering this balance, it can be a powerful way to support our children to be informed without feeling overwhelmed. After all, the news should be about more than just helping our children make sense of the world. It should empower them to feel able to make a positive difference within it too.

Here’s to raising informed, empowered and hopeful little world-changers!

If you liked this article, please visit us at News Literacy Lab and sign up to our weekly newsletter to empower you to help your children build essential news literacy skills. Stay informed. Stay empowered.

Twitter: @jacksonjodie21
Website: https://newsliteracylab.org/

[Fairyliz]

What a great article; I think it would be a useful for most adults to consider never mind children.