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From headlines to hope: How Christian parents can guide youth and children through troubling news
By 
Kate Orson2025-04-10T08:25:00
The news isn’t easy for anyone to hear right now, least of all our children. From war and political divisions, to natural disasters, the headlines are enough to fill a grown adult with terror, let alone a young person.
How can we talk to our children about the news, and ensure that they know that despite all the darkness, God is working all things together for good?
Help yourself first, then you can help your children
Firstly, I think it helps to put on our own oxygen mask. A number of research studies have found that watching the news has a negative effect on mental health. A 2007 study published in the International Journal of Behavioural Medicine found that watching just 15 minutes of news increased anxiety.
How do we balance being informed with taking care of our own mental health? This is something we need to think about and pray about. As we notice our own mental state, we can adjust what we are doing, so that when our children are distressed by world events, we can talk to them from a place of calm. Mirror neurons in the brain mean that our children can pick up on our mood and reflect it. Therefore, if we are less anxious about world events, we can reassure them and help them feel better.
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