Helping Parents Explain War to Children: Simplification and Modulated Disclosure

Armed conflict forces parents to balance truth-telling with emotional protection to maintain children’s sense of security. This study evaluates the “Children’s Dictionary for War Situations”, a tool developed during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war to assist parents in mediating complex reality. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, 81 parents of children aged 4–16 were surveyed regarding the tool’s efficacy, missing concepts, and age-appropriateness. Findings indicate significant gaps in addressing highly charged traumatic concepts, specifically “kidnapped” and “hostage”. Parents reported difficulty navigating “modulated disclosure”, the tension between accurate information and emotional shielding. Results underscore the critical role of parental mediation in buffering trauma and highlight the need for clinically informed, developmentally appropriate communication tools. These findings offer implications for fostering child resilience and supporting parental guidance strategies during ongoing military crises.