Fighting in various parts of Ukraine is the reason of threat of encountering an explosive object. Children who interact with munitions and their debris out of banal curiosity are most often the victims of landmines. Many of them do not even realize how dangerous such games can be. Today we will talk about how to explain about explosive devices to children without harming their psyche.

Learn the simple rules

Choose a good time to talk to your child about war and explosives. The child should be focused on your information, not on games or cartoons. Take a steady posture and slow down your speech pace. According to psychologists, this contributes to increasing trust in an adult and focusing attention on him.

Start the conversation with the fact that it is very serious. If you have to explain such things to a child under the age of 7, you can say that you want to learn safety rules together. The child will feel involved in a common cause and will be integrated into the process as much as possible.

Tell about the basic rules of our time:

• always look under your feet;
• do not pick up any objects from the floor;
• do not approach to the unknown objects, military equipment and ammunition;
• if you see a dangerous projectile, call your parents and 101;

Always repeat them when you walk outside. So the child will associate walking with the need to be careful.

Dog “Patron” – assistant during conversations with children

When talking about why you can't touch explosive objects, remember the dog “Patron”. Tell the child that this small dog is helping to clear our country from various types of projectiles that can explode and harm people and their homes. You should not show photos of destruction or damage to body parts from mines from the network. With this you will only scare the child. The main task is to make it clear why you should not approach explosive devices.

Clearness

It will be useful to show photos of mines and stretch marks. Agree with the little one that they will not touch dangerous objects in the pictures, as well as in life. Do not forget to monitor the reaction of the child. If child looks worried, give her/him a hug and tell you're there.

It is important to let children understand where mines are “hiding” (forests, grass, fences, houses and even toys).

The most important thing is to repeat conversations about safety. Answer questions openly whenever they arise. The child must also learn the number 101 and be able to formulate an appeal to the employees of the State Emergency Service. Talk about different situations with child and think together about options for the development of events.