Wise Ways to Explain the War in Palestine to Children Lifestyle – 2 hours ago

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Entering the 25th day since October 7 2023, Israel’s attacks on Gaza, Palestine are increasingly brutal and intense. Launching from Al Jazeera, around 8,306 Palestinians were killed as a result of brutal Israeli attacks. Meanwhile, more than 1,400 people in Israel were declared dead.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire from the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and emphasized that a ceasefire “will not happen”.

This war is not only frightening for children in Palestine, but also children in the world. As a result, most parents decided to keep the topic of war away from their children.

However, increasingly widespread access to information means that children still have the potential to receive news related to the war in Palestine. So, how should parents explain the Israeli-Palestinian war to their children?

Child Clinical Psychologist from the Empathinc Psychology Center, Aryani Rahmah Utami, explained that there are at least three aspects that parents must pay attention to before talking about war to their children.

First, parents are obliged to understand and process information from existing news, including the context behind the war. This is important to ensure that you do not give wrong information to your child.

Photo: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM A young child reacts as mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians from the Shamalkh family, who health officials said were killed in Israeli strikes, in Gaza City, October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Second, determine the message you want to convey to your child. Tailor the message to the child’s age. Because, each age stage has different abilities to understand the information that parents convey.

Third, keep in mind that it is very natural for children to have many questions after receiving an explanation about war. However, you don’t always need to have the answers to your child’s questions. It’s okay to delay giving your child an answer.

“Don’t worry if the themes of war, fighting, morality, justice, good versus evil, power and control, and death appear in children’s games,” said Aryani in a written statement, quoted on Wednesday (1/11/2023).

“Use this opportunity to observe and learn more about the child, what he understands from these themes. Remember, this is their way of communicating and explaining their world to their parents,” continued Aryani.

Here’s how to convey the topic of war according to the child’s age stages:

1. Toddler (2-3 years)

At this age, children’s cognitive development is not yet ready to receive information about the concept of war. However, they can understand their parents’ feelings from the emotional reactions they display when watching the news.

Express honestly to your child what your parents feel about the war, for example, “Mom/dad is sad to see that many people are injured because of the war. We are grateful that we are safe here.

It’s best to avoid exposing toddlers to war news.

2. Preschooler (4-6 years) and up to 8 years

Children at this age stage are starting to understand the concept of war. You can explain by defining war using simple language. For example, “The war is fighting. No one wants to give in.”

Then, parents can also explain the impact of war, for example, “Because of the war, many people were injured. We are grateful that we are safe here. It felt scary to see many bombs exploding on television. It was sad that many were injured. How did your little one feel when he saw that? is that on TV?”

Show a world map. Show where the war took place and where you live. Explain and ensure that the location of the war is very far from your child’s current location, and therefore the effects of the war such as a destroyed house do not occur here. This is important because the child’s main focus is safety and security.

Give simple facts in short sentences, for example “Because someone threw a bomb, many people were injured, houses were destroyed.”

Stop explaining about war and let your child ask questions.

“For children aged 4-6 years, explanations about war can be done repeatedly. Because at this age children still don’t understand that war will not completely continue and children can have thoughts that war will magically disappear,” said Ariyani again.

“After that, continue to monitor the child’s routine as usual. Make sure there are no significant changes when eating, sleeping and playing,” he concluded.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(hsy/hsy)