SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The devastation in the Middle East is a lot to process as the conflict between Israel and Hamas intensifies. It begs the question as to how parents can navigate discussions on this topic with their children.
"While we are here and we're safe, it's pretty distressing because there's a lot of deep connections to our community: grandparents, cousins, friends," said Jilian Bar-or who is Head of School at Shalom School, which serves two to 12-year-olds.
As children hear about the war, Bar-or shared recommendations on how to approach the topic.
"It's really important to be honest and answer their questions in a really simple manner that's at their level developmentally — thinking extra critically about what these students may need on a social emotional level," she said.
She also encourages making sure children feel safe, because they could be exposed to images that are difficult to see.
"Make sure that what they are seeing and hearing about is developmentally appropriate," Bar-or said. "My hope is that they're really being shielded from some of the horrific images on social media and that their parents aren't letting them Google things regarding this topic, or scroll mindlessly or looking over their shoulder while they're scrolling as adults."
When in doubt, Bar-or recommends turning to a trusted advisor, such as a rabbi, therapist or educator, for assistance.
"You want to make sure you're just going into these situations super consciously and not from a reactive place, so I think it's important for parents to give themselves permission to tell their kids, 'I'll come back to you on that. That's a really interesting question,' and seek the resources they need as an adult," she said.
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