Musings: My child is talking about Ukraine like how I talked about 9/11

It's been a strange feeling turning on the news the last two days.

Turning on the TV yesterday and seeing the news coming out of Ukraine was incredibly jarring. Explosions going off, people hiding in underground train stations or fleeing to neighbouring countries. As an adult these scenes are frightening and confusing, but overhearing a conversation my child was having with their friend brought home the reality of what these images feel like for children. While my child was in the room next to mine playing with their friend the topic of Ukraine came up between them. They started talking about what they had seen on the telly and wondering if bombs would start going off in other places. They also wondered if a nuclear bomb went off would we feel it all the way over here in Ireland? Listening to them reminded me so much of being their age and watching 9/11 unfold on TV. Watching the Twin Towers get hit one by one, only to hear then that the Pentagon had also been attacked and there had been another plane crash too. All we talked about at school was what we had seen on the news or heard our parents talking about and if all of this meant there was going to be another world war. I remember being so scared and unsure of what was happening and I can only imagine that children watching or hearing about what is happening in Ukraine are feeling the same. As a parent, I'm not sure what I can do. How can I reassure my children that it won't get worse when I don't even know what's going to happen next myself. Most of all though, my thoughts are with the Ukrainian parents trying to keep their children safe right now as they live through one of Europe's darkest hours.