Ukraine: Child therapist in Bucks expects increase in anxiety amongst kids
A Neuro Linguistic Programming expert in Aylesbury has been speaking to us as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues.
A child therapist in Bucks tells us he's expecting to see more cases of kids struggling with their mental health due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
It's hard to escape the news at the moment, with coverage of Russia's invasion dominating our TV screens, radio stations and social media feeds.
But there's growing concern that young people are now beginning to suffer from anxiety and stress as the situation in Eastern Europe becomes more serious.
We've been speaking with Neuro Linguistic Programming expert Ian Davies - who owns and runs Aylesbury Therapy For Kids in Buckinghamshire.
Ian tells us it's important parents tailor their approach to bringing up the topic of Ukraine to make it age appropriate.
"A 5 year old is largely going to be unaware of what's going on. If they ask questions, then yes, do answer them in an age appropriate way."
" A 13 year old is probably going to be much more aware of what's going on, but equally, that may be fraught with misconceptions - so you need to address those as well.
"You've got Boris saying we're going to have a tidal wave of violence, which is a very dramatic statement. You've got Putin saying world leaders will face consequences they've never had before in human history"
Ian explains the increasing use of the term 'World War III' isn't helping the situation.
"When you've got those things being said its not surprising that they hear World War III and think 'arghh, what is going on?!' You need to wind that back a bit."
Ian gave us the following analogy for parents to use when a young child asks questions about the Russian invasion.
"Quite a nice way, even with an older child, is to explain that Putin is a bit of a bully. It's a little bit like someone saying 'that person has got my sweets and I'm going to get them back!'
"And so he's asked for them back and they the Ukrainians have said 'no we want to go with this gang over here who're called NATO'
"And Putin is saying 'no you're not going to NATO you're coming here' - he's trying to get his sweets back!
"That's quite a nice way of putting it through to a child, because most children understand what a bully is and how nasty and horrible they are."