01/03/2026
With the events of the last two days in global news, we wanted to share some support from psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg.
“The emotional alarm system (of the adolescent brain) is highly active, while the part of the brain responsible for perspective and long-range reasoning is still under construction.
When young people see footage of bombings or hear talk of escalation, they are not calmly analysing foreign policy. They are asking a far more personal question: is the world becoming unsafe?”
When parents say nothing, teenagers often fill the silence themselves — and adolescents are remarkably good at imagining worst-case scenarios. Silence, in this context, is not neutral.
It can be frightening.
The instinct for many adults is either to lecture or to reassure too quickly. Neither works. A long explanation about who is right or wrong politically will lose them within seconds, while dismissing the situation with "this has nothing to do with us" feels unconvincing in a world where conflict arrives live on their screens.
Teenagers are highly sensitive to emotional authenticity; they know when adults are pretending certainty they do not actually feel.
A better starting point is simple: "You’re probably seeing/hearing about this online — how is it making you feel”?
That question shifts the conversation away from ideology and towards wellbeing, which is where parents actually have influence. It signals safety, invites reflection and reduces anxiety far more effectively than delivering answers.
Young people also need perspective.
Social media often compresses the world into an emergency, showing dramatic moments without context or resolution. Parents can gently remind them that news platforms highlight crisis because crisis captures attention, while billions of people - diplomats, communities and ordinary citizens — are constantly working to prevent conflicts from spreading. Adolescents need scale to counter the distorted intensity of the online environment.”
We hope this is helpful today. If you feel as though you are pouring out of an empty cup this weekend that’s totally understandable - we hope you get a moment to rest and check in with friends and can also recommend https://www.breathingspace.scot/
