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Watching The News With Children

In one of our new storybooks, ‘Purple Watches the News’, we look at ways in which we can help children process what they see on the news. The world may seem all doom and gloom at times, but there are positives that we can hone in on and show that, above all, the world is a beautiful place.

At the start of the story, Purple becomes very distressed at hearing the news, as none of it seems very positive. The news goes on to talk about a local car accident, at which point Purple begins to cry. She also states that she never wants to get into a car again.

It’s entirely natural and logical for a child to think that something is dangerous when only the negative aspects are shown. It would be impractical and pointless to show the cars that have driven safely to their destinations, so it’s important to stress that traumatic events like car accidents (for one example) are very infrequent, even if the news makes it seem otherwise.

Our curriculum stresses the good over the bad, reminding children the importance of focusing on the positives. That is not to say we gloss over the negatives - far from it. Realistically, that would be unhelpful and unhealthy. But we show that negatives are hurdles of adversity that can be conquered.

Take for example the process of grief. We all respond to it in different ways, and it’s something that we all regrettably have to go through at some stage. Sometimes it happens when we’re very young and can provide a reality check that seems needlessly brutal and makes little sense. Then again, this is even the case when we’re older and seemingly wiser.

The concept of death is a tricky one, but this is one of many areas in which 1decision can help young children understand how the world works. As well as our recent story on how we can watch the news with children, we also have a story entitled ‘Purple’s Pet Bird’, in which Purple deals with the passing of her beloved pet. We show how children can deal with grief in an emotionally healthy way - coping mechanisms like creating a memory box for example.

Then we come to our Nurture Group portal, designed for use in cases of intervention, with two separate age groups catered for (ages 4-8 & 8-11). In times of hardship, these portals are here to help overcome barriers of mental health. We encourage openness, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem through our numerous activities. We want children to realise they have more to give than they may know.

Then we have our Lower Primary Portal (ages 5-8), where our first Feelings and Emotions unit can be found. We’re here to let children know that it’s perfectly okay to be emotional, whether that emotion is sadness, anger, jealousy, anxiety, or grief. What we look to do is demonstrate the value of responding to these challenges. We are not robots after all.

We realise that children grow and develop; therefore, we cater to Feelings and Emotions in our Upper Primary Portal (ages 8-11) too. As you can see, our pathway is clear as children progress through the obstacles and challenges of nursery and primary school. We introduce the basic concepts of empathy, before encouraging positive decision making as children go through their formative years. We believe that this is the stage where we can truly make a difference, in turn inspiring an incredible generation.

At 1decision, we’re always open to feedback on how we can tailor our stories to issues relevant to children that are perhaps not covered in other curriculums. If you have any feedback, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through one of our social media channels in the top right hand corner of the page. Alternatively, feel free to drop us an email at info@1decision.co.uk.