Giving Compass' Take:

• Andre Perry discusses how children handle traumatizing news and how to best talk to them about war.

• How will teaching students on war differ in different communities? What can parents do to further their children’s education and encourage conversations of government and military outside the classroom? 

• Here's an article on helping children who are experiencing trauma. 

Like many people, I perched on my sofa to watch cable news after reports rolled out last week about the U.S. airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani, leader of Iran’s elite Quds military force. Noticing my interest, my son nestled beside me. We watched President Donald Trump say he authorized the strike “to stop a war,” and avert “imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel.” About 30 minutes into our watching session, my son asked, “Are we going to war?”

Killing anyone, I explained, evokes a strong response. Losing a family member, friend or colleague is difficult under normal circumstances, such as illness and old age. When a loved one’s life is taken by another in a deliberate, violent act, the emotions generated lead many to seek out justice by another name. “Remember how upset you were when you thought your friend had stolen your basketball?” I asked. “But there are different ways to respond — you chose to ask your friend about it without lashing out first.”

This case was not like that one, I explained. This time, I believed, Iran would likely respond with violence. Yet the truth I wanted my son to absorb, despite what the pundits on air said, was this: War is not necessary.

Read the full article about talking to your children about war by Andre Perry at The Hechinger Report.