Helping Teens Process Current Events: A Toolkit for Parents
News and information has never been more accessible for adults—and for children. It’s inevitable that young people will come across news and other content that they may need support to process and understand. It’s also critical for young people to appreciate how understanding current events can help them develop empathy, particularly for people who are different from them.
In this guide, parents of middle and high school students will find strategies for reflection, discussion, and more to engage with their children and help them process current events.
Making Caring Common collaborated with Facing History & Ourselves and The Choose Kindness Project to create this resource.
Recommendations
Start with yourself. Reflect on how your lived experience, values, political positions, and beliefs impact your reactions to news topics and the way you address them with your teen. Make space for your teen to explore their own identity in the context of the news you are discussing. Also, consider how harnessing empathy can help you grow your “circle of concern” when discussing current events, especially events that involve people who are different from you.
Establish current events routines. Find intentional moments to discuss current events with your teen and take the time to understand your teen’s questions and concerns so that difficult topics are given due attention. Create boundaries around the constant stream of news and establish news-free moments. You can also look for ways to take action, which can help instill hope and a sense of agency in your teen when news feels overwhelming or particularly distressing.
Use reliable news sources. Help your teen judge the reliability of information they encounter in the news or on social media, assess how their own identity and perspectives influence their responses based on what and who they have empathy for, and provide supportive guidance about how they absorb and share news through social media.
Choose an engagement strategy. To support difficult conversations and questions, create a space with your teen that feels safe and comfortable. Use our recommended strategies—such as Color, Symbol, Image; Head, Heart, Conscience; and Learn to Listen, Listen to Learn—to help these conversations feel the most productive and educational.
Download the toolkit for more in-depth pointers for discussing current events issues with teens.
Last updated August 2023.
Overview
For: Parents and Caregivers
Grades: 6 - 12
Resource Type: Toolkit
