As parents, it can be hard to know what to tell children about fighting in the Middle East, or whether to say anything at all.

In a world more connected than ever before, it’s difficult to shield them completely, so what should we say?

One of the country’s leading parenting experts, psychiatrist Dr Kaylene Henderson, says it’s not an easy subject to raise.

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“It’s absolutely a hard thing to talk about with kids ... it’s a hard thing for us to fathom.”

She says how you should approach this with your child, depends on your child.

“Some will feel particularly anxious, especially if they have pre-existing high anxiety levels,” she says.

“Pre-primary school age, I tend to completely minimise exposure to any of this catastrophic world news.”

By the time children are at school, she says it’s likely they will hear about it from unreliable sources.

“Ask them if they’ve heard about this already, ask them what they’ve heard.

“Flag with them that whatever they may see on social media might not always be accurate.

“Make sure they know they can come to you, and they’re safe with you always.”

Dr Susan Rowe is a clinical supervisor at Bond University.

She says all the research indicates parents play a huge role in easing anxiety in children.

“It really definitively shows parents have an opportunity to buffer exposure for kids.

“They will follow and mimic what the parent’s reaction and responses are.”

The best advice is to take your child’s lead, she says.

“A parent’s role when kids are exposed to things outside the home is about providing context, information, and clarity.

“Or even letting kids know where to get more information.”

Parents should offer support, appropriate to their age.

“So that might be a hug and reassurance, or it might be that kids want to avoid the information, and parents can let them know that’s okay, they can ask more when they want to.”

Sometimes children will feel stress or fear and not say anything.

A simple question can start a discussion.

“It can even just start with, do you have any questions about anything, or is anything bothering you that you want to talk about?”

Both experts agree the difficult subject is an opportunity to connect, and teach this hard lesson: When conflict does happen, fighting, is never the answer.