It’s normal to worry about all the bad news in the world right now

The news right now seems to be filled with really hard stories.

There are stories about floods and war. There are stories about people being hurt and houses being destroyed.

Some of you might have heard about children who are your age being in hospital or taken away in ambulances. You might have seen children’s pets needing to be rescued from overflowing rivers.

This kind of news can make you feel like the world is a hard place to live in. Some children might start to worry about their own neighbourhood being flooded with rain. They might even be frightened that Australians are going to have to fight in a war.

Some of you might have friends or family who are living in houses that have been filled with water after all the rain in Queensland and NSW.

You might know people who live in Ukraine or in Europe close to where the war is happening right now.

All of this can be really scary.

It is important to understand that your reactions are natural. You won’t be the only child or teenager to have these kind of thoughts or feelings. There are others around you who do too, even if they don’t say anything about them.

It is also certain that adults are worried about all of these things too.

So what can you do?

1. Talk about what is on your mind with adults you trust. Talk about how you are feeling with your parents, grandparents, teachers or someone else in your family. Tell them a little about what you are worried about. They will probably ask you lots of questions that will help you understand more about the floods and the war in Ukraine.

2. Know that there are people out there who are trying to make things better. In Queensland and NSW, where the floods are, there are police, ambulance officers, soldiers, other emergency workers and lots of volunteers who are rescuing people and pets. These are also the people who will help with the clean up after the water goes away.

There are also many countries who are trying to stop the war in Ukraine. Many governments around the world (like in the US, UK, France, Germany and Australia) have come together to tell the Russian government that they are wrong for invading Ukraine. These governments are working together to put pressure on the Russian government to stop the war as soon as possible.

3. Big problems will eventually be fixed. It might take some time. It might take a lot of effort. But we will all be safe again.

4. Remind yourself that the people who love you still love you. You are still important to them. They want you to have fun and learn and have friends. They will take care of you.

The one thing that you should always remember is that what you feel and think is important. It is OK to react in the way that you are. The news can be hard to listen to or read. But there are people around you who can help you make sense of it all.

Dr Joe Tucci is the head of the Australian Childhood Foundation. He works with many children and young people who have lots of worries.

EXTRA READING

What is happening between Ukraine and Russia?

School’s out as floods cause havoc

Simple steps to ease your worries in tough times

QUICK QUIZ

• Is it normal to feel worried about the bad news in the world?
• What’s Dr Tucci’s first tip to ease your worries?
• Name some of the types of people who are rescuing people and pets in the floods.
• What are governments around the world doing to help stop the war in Ukraine?
• What does Dr Tucci say eventually happens to big problems?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Beautify the advice
Choose one of Dr Joe Tucci’s tips for dealing with worries about the bad news in the world and create a colourful graphic poster about this piece of advice. You can display your poster to remind yourself, your family or your classmates about this helpful strategy.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Health and Physical Education; Visual Arts

2. Extension
Reflect on how the news of the floods or the war in Ukraine is impacting on you and write a journal entry about how you are feeling about these events. Think about whether you are already implementing any of the ideas in this story or if adopting some of them could be helpful for you.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Health and Physical Education

VCOP ACTIVITY
Connective collection
After reading the article, with a partner, highlight as many connectives as you can find. Discuss if these are being used as conjunctions, or to join ideas and create flow.