When a traumatic event happens there is instantly a virtually continuous loop of 24-hour TV news coverage which inflicts our children with images of death and destruction. The sound and sights of bleeding shattered bodies, many of them children, and possible worst of all the shouted often hysterical comments of reporters about these events inundate us.

Like the coverage of a War, the news coverage of a traumatic event can be equally disturbing to viewers, both young and old.

The most televised war in history is over but the TV coverage about it continues.  New content may be more about the carnage that followed hostilities, but there is a barrage of images as mentioned above. Together this content is just not appropriate for young children.

On the face of it the solution against problematic effects on children from watching TV about war is simply not to expose them to it. But it's not easy to do this. The events of the first TV war, the Vietnam War, were depicted on newscasts presented throughout the day with more detailed graphic material appearing in the early evening. Parents who chose to do so were able to control exposure to vivid material with relative ease. In this era of 24-hour news channels, screen scrolls, and 15 minute up dates it is hard if not impossible to control viewing. Those of us with children know that no matter how closely we try to monitor the things our children watch they still find ways to see it.

Some health professionals argue that failure to restrict viewing need not be a "big deal". They claim that many young children will flick the control when they run across war coverage, simply because the material does not interest them. While this may be true a lot of the time, stressed children, those dealing with family break-up and effects of learning difficulties, bullying at school etc. appear to pay particular attention to the adult things they see on TV. They also appear to be influenced by what they see. Horrific war images are likely to distress them.

It is reasonable then to suppose that a fairly large proportion of our children will encounter war footage on TV and recognise that it is a significant world event. Sometimes they will see the material in the company of other family members. Remember that they will pick up on how you respond to the material. If you show shock and horror they will absorb this, so keep your cool.

It is very likely that children will want to ask their parents questions about the material they see on TV. Always answer the questions directly. In general do not elaborate beyond the direct answers other than to probe very gently to find out what general misperceptions they may have gained from peers. Chances are that war related questions from young children will be highly personalised and concerned with their own and family safety. They are likely to have fears particularly about damage to their mothers. With older children concerns may be more universal. On matters of safety give unequivocal reassurance. With older children use a map to show how remote the war was from them. Maybe point to the many places that have not been at war.

There could also be questions about why we were at war. There can be no prescriptive answers here. Family attitudes and values should dictate the response. It is safe to say that how you respond in terms of your own political view, anger and fear, rather than what you say, will be important. It is always clever to talk the child's language to connect with their emotions and reasoning power.

I am aware that I have referred to younger and older children without mentioning age ranges to define these categories. Very loosely younger refers to children less than 10 years and older refers to children between 10 and 13 years. However, the more important message is that you need to tailor your TV control to the maturity and personality of your children.

In conclusion, there is no gain for younger children in having to deal with images of war. In a perfect world they should not be watching war coverage at all. Older children may gain something by keeping abreast of the news. Best they do this in the company of parents and by watching the shorter broadcasts on free to air channels. In either group it is probably best to avoid dedicated news channels, which constantly repeat and strongly emphasise war related material.

Many old-timer health professionals tell younger colleagues that the first thing to do in an emergency is take your own pulse. In the context of the TV war, your pulse may signal danger for your kids. So keep your finger on it. Remember it is easy to eliminate graphic coverage by turning it off!