Be honest to your children, but teach empathy and humanitarian concept



The Kashmir is a scary place, there's no doubt about it. Even adults feel Like hiding from it. But how does the grisly news of the Blasts, cross firings, encounters, suicide attacks and Armed conflicts affect our young children? Are they making any sense of it?

If you're a parent, or elder in family it's more difficult to know what to do.? "When Newscasts are filled with immediate, live and graphic details, parents wonder if they should protect their children from the grim reality, explore the topic, and or share their personal beliefs
After all, kids are not reacting in the same way.”There's a huge variability in how kids are reacting,” "Few kids do not seem to pay any attention to it at all, they just don’t. But most of kids react to it by talking about it, and few are overwhelmed by it."

Take an example when they go to arcades with their parents or elders , they as usual stop for window shopping , like every one does it, but when they return next time, they demand toys in shape of toy guns which look alike he has seen on TV or news papers photographs in the hands of militants and army men. Kids in turmoil, of course, are those who are with their parents or family member and are living in Kashmir rather than Jammu or ladakh or had trauma in past in their lives – like the children’s who have experienced major Gun fire , or have lost dear and near ones are likely to have emotional difficulties manifesting as post traumatic stress disorders "They are scared, and understandably so. Some are probably having nightmares, reactive depression, anxiety, toddler can have nocturnal enuresis

The child's age and temperament, whether they are prone to worry, should
Determine your response. Tailor your discussion to a level the child can understand.
Some words of advice: Key is Good communication. "They need to be in an open environment and it has to start early," This relationship doesn't develop overnight. But when a child feels they can talk with you, they also feel they can come to you when they're upset." As they have massacres, grenade attacks in mind; tell them the reality about these conflicts.

Stress the child's safety. "Tell them that people are here to protect Them, like Friends, neighbors, uncles, aunt, brothers, sisters and more so ever their parents and god will protect them,” "The God is working to make things safe. No matter what your politics is, it's important for kids to know that they are safe."

Watch TV news with your children. "Little kids have difficulty Interpreting what they see, and parents must take control over what they Watch, We know that due to Militancy, they had difficulty knowing the fact from confusional state of events .They see the event; they see it over and over again, and they don't know how to interpret it, so safe is to tell the truth and the complexity of situation, like history or genesis Of conflict So that they can understand and make them understand that parties involved in it have realized it and are on it to resolve it for good .so that we can live in peace and harmony it can give them confidence to cope up to live in Kashmir.

contibuted by : Dr Niyaz A Jan