26 Jun 2025

Parenting: How to talk to your children about conflict and war

From Nine To Noon, 11:30 am on 26 June 2025
Image of a child looking worried turned away from a television

Photo: Pixabay

It can be hard to avoid what's going on in the world right now, including for children.

With images of war regularly topping the news on TV or online, it can be a concerning - and confusing - time for kids.

If they're exposed to images and stories about conflict and have questions about what it's about, what's the best way to answer them?

How young is too young to see images of war, and what happens conflicts in far-away places cross-over into real world aggression or hate online, at school or in the community?

Brad Morgan is the director of Emerging Minds, an Australian organisation which develops mental health policy, interventions and programmes, and leads the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health.

He joins Kathryn to discuss strategies parents can use to help their children understand world conflicts.