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in focus: childhard enough to dissect even when inconversation with adults. The surroundingthemes of war such as killing, death,violence and injustice are not heart-warmingexamples that we want to unfold as realitiesto our little ones.UAE based Paediatrics DevelopmentSpecialist Dr. Vinita Shrivastava informs usthat “Most children become aware of theconcept of war from the primary schoolyears age, however they may struggle tograsp the complexities of conflicts due toemotional immaturity”. She states that it isour duty as parents to teach our childrenabout moral and legal consequences ofthings such as violence for them to gainfurther understanding regarding war initself.UAE based mother and writer Ms ValeriaCamerino states that “experiencing war is abig trauma for any child. And that it affectsa person’s emotional stability and futuredevelopment”.Naturally, we may fear that touching on suchthemes could leave our children traumatizedand instead opt for ignoring the matter inorder to ‘protect’ them. Ms. Valeria statesthat you should simplify it by just teachingthem “that war is wrong”.Dr. Shrivastava emphasizes the importanceof continuous communication so that youcan explain any thoughts they have on thematter.“Be observant if the child’s thoughts beginto seem to display discrimination of anyform. Furthermore look for any suddenchange in their behaviour or the companythey keep especially during adolescentyears.”Many of us recall stories from wars that our owngrandparents experienced and they might haveseemed entertaining and triumphantly inspiringrather than daunting. “Educating children aboutwar has an overall positive effect as war plays anintegral role in our past”.The new challenge in parenting is theuncontrolled content of the internet whichcan expose children to negative imagery andinformation that we need to be cautious of. Newtechnologies such as computer games as wellas films are basic examples of how children getintroduced to violent themes which we mustclosely monitor in order for them to grow with ahealthy ideal of the world.Teaching our children about love and peace alsostarts in the home. Maintaining a peaceful livingenvironment also builds a strong foundation fortheir moral understanding of right and wrong.Familiarizing our children with notorious peacecampaigners are encouraging ways to positivelyreinforce the meaning of peace to them.Mohandas Gandhi was the ultimate example ofhumility and non-violent expression stating “Aneye for an eye will make the whole world blind.”Source:Dr Vinita ShrivastavaDevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatrics+971 5 550 85656vinita9@doctors.org.uk