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Children can find the news scary and confusing

For adults, the news can be shocking. But our life experience enables us to mentally file it away in the “Very sad but doesn’t affect me” box or the “Not this again!” box. For children trying to make sense of the world, the news can be desperately alarming. I was not surprised at all to learn about the rise in calls to ChildLine from children feeling anxious about events in the news.

While many of us would like to wrap up our children in cotton wool and shield them from the wider world, sadly that horse has already bolted. We are surrounded by news. There are 24/7 news channels, radio, newspapers, the internet and smartphones (the average age kids get their first phone is seven and a half). The world is at their fingertips. Even if you have done a great job of activating all the parental controls (and your tech-savvy offspring hasn’t simply switched them off again), chances are that bad stuff in the news will be the talk of the playground. As a parent, or grandparent, it is almost impossible to censor the stories that reach your child, or gauge how they are interpreted.

It’s misinformation that is the problem – be it half a story from a friend at school, or a sensationalised headline, or an inaccurate report. As the responsible adults in their lives, we need to be sure that they are getting accurate, impartial information, which is written for them and doesn’t sensationalise or scaremonger. It needs to be truthful yet reassuring.

That’s where First News comes in. We don’t shy away from reporting a story because we know children will have heard about it anyway. A note on this: be careful about your own casual conversations in front of children. A throwaway comment among adults in the car about how Donald Trump being elected as president could result in world war three, or that Brexit will bring Britain to its knees, could silently terrify those in the backseat for weeks. Far better to discuss these issues with your children and give them a chance to talk about their worries. That way you can reassure them.

Last year we surveyed more than 2,000 children and they said that their single biggest fear was terrorism. It is desperately sad that they should be so troubled by the threat, even when the statistics show that it is highly unlikely to impact on most of our lives. We point out that kind of stuff.

First News covers all the major headlines that we know children are hearing about. We have a daily bulletin on our new online channel and two-minute explainer videos called I Don’t Get It!, covering topics such as the migrant crisis, the Zika virus and Islamic State. The newspaper, which comes out every Friday, addresses every story head on. We tell the truth in everything that we do, but we don’t scaremonger, sparing the graphic details where they are unnecessary.

We always put the story in context, explaining the background. And we point out that stories are often only in the news because they are rare, and that our everyday lives are barely ever touched by such events. For instance, after the Paris attacks, we highlighted the fact that the chances of actually being caught up in such violence are incalculably small. After a plane crash, we remind readers that, at any one moment, half a million people are criss-crossing the skies in thousands of planes that take off and land safely.

Unlike many other news sources, First News is really careful to ensure our coverage is balanced. We make sure we carry a plethora of positive and uplifting stories. Good news is news, too. The fact is that there is far more good in the world than bad, and it is our responsibility to report that – and not just for children – for the mental health of the nation.

Nobody wants to read or watch the news and feel thoroughly depressed about the planet we live on. Most people are decent and kind – we never forget to tell children that.

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What children want to know about coronavirus

When Sky News began to air its weekend children’s news show, FYI, in November 2018, there were some raised eyebrows and ramblings on Twitter saying children weren’t interested in the news.

For me, it was like history repeating itself. I launched the UK’s only newspaper for children, First News, in 2006 to similar mutterings. Yet, 14 years later, First News is the most widely-read publication for children in the country with more than 2.2 million 8 to 14-year-old readers. We are seeing a current surge in newsstand sales and subscriptions with parents and carers anxious to know what they should be telling children about Covid-19 – to ensure they are getting accurate information, rather than the misinformation circulating online.

FYI is similarly getting great viewing figures across all three of its broadcasts on Sky News – more than holding its own among the adult programming – with the channel even enjoying a peak in ratings when FYI is on. This has surprised a lot of people. 

But it’s true: children are interested in news and the world around them. 

Timing helps

Even before coronavirus turned all our lives upside down, with so much fake news and prejudiced views online, kids needed help to sort the sense from the nonsense. That’s why FYI came along at just the right time. And, now, in the midst of this huge global Covid-19 pandemic, children want, and need, to feel informed so that they understand the important part they have to play in the fight against the virus. 

In many ways, our youngest generation is sacrificing the most – they are missing school; they can’t see their friends or their grandparents; they can’t do swimming, dancing or go to scouts; they cannot simply hang out in the park or at the shops. 

The NSPCC and ChildLine are reporting a huge increase in the numbers of children they are counselling not just because of fear about the virus itself but, in many cases, how hard they are finding difficult dynamics at home – perhaps a parent or sibling they don’t get on with and, right now, can’t escape from. 

We remind kids that they’re not alone

FYI has been featuring video diaries from children in lockdown around the world – it helps British kids to see they are not alone and that other kids are dealing with exactly the same issues wherever they are in the world. These young people are featured in the weekly show, and in our coronavirus special documentary, a look at the virus through the eyes of children (which can be watched at live.firstnews.co.uk). Now, as British kids see restrictions being relaxed for children in other countries, they can see that, one day, there will be an end to all this for us, too.

All the presenters and reporters on FYI are children, aged between 11 and 15. Again, the peer-to-peer nature of the show means that viewers can see that even kids on the telly are dealing with the same issues – broadcasting for FYI from their own homes. 

Alongside the reassurance and the sense that we are all in this together, we don’t shy away from the hard facts on the show. The fear is often worse than the truth. We have had children interview the deputy chief medical officer, Dr Jenny Harries, who has been featured in many of the Downing Street briefings. We have even had children question an ICU doctor dealing with Covid-19 patients about whether they should worry about dying from the virus. Facts and perspective are always better than fear and wild imaginings, and children need to know they are getting information they can trust to make sense of what’s going on. 

What kids want to know about coronavirus

Perhaps the biggest question for all children about the pandemic is when they will go back to school. It’s been more than five weeks since the doors were closed. The realisation is hitting many Year 6s that they might never get to go back to their primary schools, to say goodbye to their teachers, friends who are going to different schools, the reception kids they mentor, and that they will never get their end of school trip to Chessington World of Adventures, or wherever. Similarly, those in Year 11 and those leaving sixth form are facing the fact that their school days may be over.

Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, has spoken directly to children and young people, saying he can’t give them a date for a return to school. But he thanked them. “I want to say to you how sorry I am that you have had your education disrupted in this way. I know how hard it must be and I would like to thank you for making the adjustments you have had to make. I know you will be missing your friends, your teachers and your lessons. I want you to know that you are an important part of this fight too and I cannot thank you enough for all that you are doing.”

Children are definitely among the unsung heroes in this pandemic.