Four in 10 children feel sad about world events, but adults around them often fail to notice their distress, according to a Peace Pack survey by SOS Children’s Villages, published on Wednesday.
The survey, conducted a month ago in Belgium, gathered responses from 7,000 people, including 629 primary school children, 852 teenagers and 5,506 adults.
It found that children and teenagers are not shielded from bad news, even when they do not actively follow current affairs themselves.
Teenagers are bombarded with news every day, mainly through television (58%) and their TikTok feeds (39%). For younger children, parents and family are the main source of difficult news, cited by 57%.
That matters because two-thirds of adults said they have a bleak view of the world and feel powerless in the face of the news.
The survey also suggests that adults often misread children’s emotional reactions. While 39% said they can recognise anxiety in children, only 16% said they notice the sadness that news can cause in younger age groups.
Children said they feel safest when someone listens to them (54%) and reassures them (50%).
Teenagers, meanwhile, said they expect honesty from adults above all else, with 54% identifying it as their main need.
Although most adults also ranked honesty as a priority, 44% said they find it difficult to be truthful without frightening children.
Beyond their parents, children said they find comfort in their pets (46%), their friends (44%) and cuddly toys. The survey said adults largely underestimate the importance of those bonds.
