FFFNews and Children

No. 67; Updated June 2025

Children often see or hear the news many times a day through television, online reporting, social media, and podcasts. Seeing and hearing about local and world events, such as natural disasters, catastrophic events, and crime reports, may cause children to experience stress, anxiety, and fears.

There have also been changes in how news is reported that increase the potential for children to experience negative effects. These include:

  • Streaming, TV, and internet sites which report the news 24 hours a day
  • Broadcasting live events as they are unfolding, in "real time"
  • Increased reporting of the details of the private lives of celebrities and influencers
  • Detailed and repetitive visual and auditory coverage of natural disasters and violence

Parents must be aware to limit children’s exposure to inappropriate violence and sex in news stories as well as other programing. Research has shown that children and adolescents are prone to imitate what they see and hear in the news, a kind of contagion effect described as "copycat" events. Chronic and persistent exposure to media violence can lead to fear, desensitization (numbing), and in some children an increase in aggressive and violent behaviors. News stories sometimes portray events in a false or misleading way.

For example, statistics report a decrease in the incidence of crime, even as the reporting of crime in the news has increased significantly. News stories accessed by social media often contain completely faked events, aided by altered or AI-produced images.

The possible negative effects of news can be lessened by parents, teachers, or other adults watching the news with the child and talking about it together. The child's age, maturity, developmental level, life experiences, and vulnerabilities should guide how much and what kind of news the child watches.

Guidelines for minimizing the negative effects of watching the news include:

  • Monitor your child’s consumption of news stories, programs, or videos.
  • Make sure you have adequate time and a quiet place to talk if you anticipate that the news is going to be troubling or upsetting to the child.
  • Watch the news with your child.
  • Ask the child what he/she has heard and what questions he/she may have.
  • Provide reassurance regarding his/her own safety in simple words, emphasizing that you are going to be there to keep him/her safe.
  • Look for signs that the news may have triggered fears or anxieties such as trouble sleeping, persistent fears, bedwetting, crying, or talking about being afraid.

Parents should remember that it is important to talk to the child or adolescent about what he/she has seen or heard. This allows parents to lessen the potential negative effects of the news and to discuss their own ideas and values. While children cannot be completely protected from outside events, parents can help them feel safe and help them better understand the world around them.

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