Want your children to be in the know?
Let them know the news!
News for kids:
Now that can be tricky, you want children to be enlightened about the on goings in the world however too enlightened can be a problem. You do not want children to read or hear about things that their little minds cannot understand yet.
Sometimes children want to know or understand things that they are too young for, therefore it is important to read and skim through what the children are reading or hearing.
News can be broken into three categories:
- informative
- personal
- not necessary
Informative news allows children to broaden their horizons and learn about the work around them. It allows them to fantasize, learn and appreciate. It is to a child’s benefit to hear informative news on their age level.
Personal news is something that has to do with the specific child, such as family news, school news and community news. Children do not need to know everything that is going on. However children may ask, children notice and hear things that many do not intend to share with them.
Do not say it is nothing if they know something is going on! Share with them what you can on an appropriate level. If mom is having a baby or there is an impending move they feel it!
News that is not necessary is news that children would not benefit from and will just take up place in their little brain. It is news that can frighten a child, gossip, or just news that would not enlighten nor teach anything. It is simply not necessary for them to hear!
How to talk to children about news:
Sometimes children hear unnecessary news and can ask for further detail. Before brushing them off, ask them what they know about the subject. This helps dissolve any misconceptions they heard and allows them to be comforted and understood. Do not add any more information and you can talk about it just for a minute before moving onto a different subject. Children may ask their parents or those that they trust for additional detail for they are looking to be calmed down.
If children need to hear some bad news there are ways to do it. Reach out to a therapist to help you break difficult news to a child. Take the children’s feelings into consideration when giving them sad news and understand that they are young and can have a vivid imagination.
World and Interesting News Sites for Children:
There are many educational sites for children to learn about the world news, not every site is appropriate for the age children that you have, research them first!
Take a look at DOGO kids they have a variety of news related material that gets updated often. it is free.
Scholastic has a current event site for grades 1-6, it is something you have to pay for however they do have free articles.
Many newspapers have a kids section.
There are great children magazines. Find a subject that interests your child and feed them more knowledge!
- Highlights for Children
- National Geographic for Kids
- Ranger Rick
Reading helps your child build their linguistic skills. Their vocabulary will prosper and they will be kept busy with some wholesome entertainment. Get them reading today!