NBC 7’s Jeanette Quezada spoke with a psychologist about how parents and guardians should navigate conversations about the Israel-Hamas war with their children.
“The events from the past week have shaken us to the core, beyond what I could even begin to describe,” Stephanie Plotlink said.
“Only citizens are going to suffer,” said Ahlam Muhtaseb, media studies professor at Cal State San Bernardino.
Processing the events that have transpired in the last few days has been tough for many.
“Understandably, people are sharing a lot of feelings about these events, those include feelings of anxiety, fear, sadness, anger,” psychologist Dr. Diana Robbins said.
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Dr. Robbins said it’s important to be open and honest about the feelings that are showing up.
“I’m a mother of three, I have two sons, 9 and 7, and a daughter, who is 4,” Plotlink said.
For Plotlink, the last few days have been difficult for more reasons than one.
“I never imagine that I would find myself talking with my kids while dealing with my own intense emotions about what’s going on,” she said.
Plotlink said she wants to equip her kids with the tools to understand what is happening.
“I’ve been answering questions non-stop ranging from, why did god create war, which is … you know tough to navigate, to questions about the kidnapped hostages,” Plotlink said.
Dr. Robbins said it’s important to have an honest conversation with your kids, while keeping the information age-appropriate.
“Kids are a lot more resilient than sometimes we give them credit for and sometimes they are exposed to these things, sometimes at school, or you know through other children, social media,” Dr. Robbins said.
She said open-ended questions lead to other questions that explore other feelings and concern your children may have.
She said when your children share their emotions with someone, it helps keep them from building it up.
“Dealing with things in small doses and increments, taking care of our feelings along the way, really helps us function in healthier ways,” Dr. Robbins said.
Dr. Robbins said it’s important for you and your kids to take a break and get some respite from all the information coming in.
