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What our children ask about (this) war, what we respond
Thanks to all the children and adults who shared their thoughts with me.
Although children in Switzerland are far removed from the combat zone, many know a war is raging in Europe. What are they asking? What are we, adults, answering? What can we do to help them?
Seven-year-old Victoria raises her hand at the dinner table. Although the adults have tried to be mindful, the anxiety in the room has been rising. ‘Bombing’, ‘civilians’, ‘refugees’, the words reach the child. “On peut changer de sujet? Can we change the subject?” she asks.
Far from the war zone, but concerned
Some children hear the news from their parents, and some learn about war at the playground. Occasionally, the teachers discuss the topic in class. Many children, like Victoria, overhear the adults’ anxious conversations, read their non-verbal expressions, pick up on the anxiety, and draw their own conclusions.
Are parents trying to protect them from the news? How?
“I’m not trying to protect,” says the mother of Jo (6). “The war is all over the news and radio anyways.” She sends me a video. In it, Jo points a plastic shotgun on empty rolls of toilet paper that he’s lined up on the floor. He shoots, ‘You’re down Putin,’ he calls, triumphant.
