Advice on how to talk to children about Ukraine

Talking to your kids about the war in Ukraine From CTV Kitchener’s Nicole Lampa: Here’s some advice on how to talk to your children about the war in Ukraine.

Kids are curious.

So when Jason Chaves' grade three-year-old son asked about the war in Ukraine, he found a way to talk about a difficult topic.

"I just kind of explained the situationto him in kind of a simple way," said Chaves, a Kitchener resident.

Matthew Johnson, director of education at MediaSmarts, acknowledged traumatic world events can be disturbing for children and teens.

"One of the things we recommend, especially with younger kids, is making sure you don't have news on in the background when kids are around," Johnson during an interview with CTV News Kitchener.

MediaSmarts has provided a tip sheet called 'Helping Kids Cope with Media Coverage of War and Traumatic Events.' (will hyperlink to PDF)

It outlines three things parents can do:

"Ask them what they've heard about it so that you can fill in any misunderstandings they may have," recommended Johnson.

Johnson also had advice for parents of teens who often get their information from social media.

"It is often raw video being shared on TikTok or YouTube. Often it is being provided with some type of interpretation from one side or the other," said Johnson.

Johnson added, "If they want to get the big picture … give them those reliable sources of information."

Meanwhile, local school boards have asked students and staff to be patient with one another. As some may be closely connected to, or triggered by, what is unfolding in Ukraine.

The mental health lead at WCDSB suggested staff help coach students to have an open conversation with their friends.

"How to listen with empathy. How to ask some open ended questions and just to be there," said Andrea Snyder. "But also to watch their boundaries so that students are not taking on more than they can handle."

For Chaves, he said he hopes he is doing his best to share age-appropriate information with his child by telling him, "It's world leaders making decisions, not people."