Our hearts go out to the families and individuals affected by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

When there is tragic news like this in the world, it is hard to know how to respond, and especially hard to know how to talk about it with families and children.

NCFR members have thought about many of these tough questions and have provided some answers which can be found in NCFR's resource collections, conference sessions, and Family Focus articles. 

New Resources (added 2/23/23)

How to Talk With Your Child About the War in Ukraine (American Academy of Pediatrics)

War in Ukraine: Support for children and families (UNICEF)

How parents explain war and threats to their children. The experience of Ukrainian mothers (UNICEF)

Free NCFR Resource Collections

• How to Talk to Children About Tragedies
• Coping in the Wake of Shootings, Mass Violence, and Terrorism 
• How to Respond to Violence, Hate, and Racism 

Family Focus Articles

"Conflict, Violence, and War" was the theme of fall 2015 issue of Family Focus—a section of NCFR Report. These articles are temporarily open free to the public.

• My Top 10 Reasons to Include Children and Families in Discussions of War and Violence — by Judith A. Myers-Walls, Ph.D., CFLE
• Ambiguous Loss and Addressing Legacies of Disappearance in Conflict — by Simon Robins, Ph.D.
• Families in South Africa: The Legacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission — by Jan D. Brooks, M.Ed., and Sarai Coba-Rodriguez, Ph.D.
• "Has the World Forgotten About Us?" The Making of a Scholar-Activist — by Lee Ann De Reus, Ph.D.
• "Minefields in Their Hearts": The Price of Societal Violence — by Clara Gerhardt, Ph.D., CFLE, and Thea Loubser, M.A.
• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Risk and Resilience Through Conflict — by Angela Nancy Mendoza, M.A., and Christine A. Fruhauf, Ph.D.
• See more articles from this issue.

Conference Recordings

“Conflict, Violence, and War: Family Risk and Resilience” was the theme of the 2015 NCFR Annual Conference, led by conference chair Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, Ph.D., CFLE.

NCFR members can access recordings from the 2015 conference including:

• Children's Exposure to Family, Community and Political Conflict and Violence: Emotional Security Theory and Child Adjustment
  Plenary presented by E. Mark Cummings, Ph.D.
• Family and Child Resilience in War and Political Conflict
  Plenary presented by Ann Masten, Ph.D.
• Holistic Long-Term Rehabilitation with Rescued Child Soldiers and War-Affected Children
  Special Session presented by Bethany Haley Williams and Matthew Williams, Exile International
• Intercepting Historical Trauma: Intergenerational Transmission of Risk and Resilience in Families Affected by Political Violence
  Special Session presented by Kaethe Weingarten, Ph.D., Witnessing Project, Berkeley, CA
• See all recordings from this conference

Do you have additional resources around conflict and war to share? Email Trip Sullivan at [email protected].