bflat, I agree that these issues can be very upsetting to youngsters. I was 9 years old when WWII ended and for years afterward I worried about the 'end of the world'. My parents and their friends worried incessantly about the atomic bomb and its capabilities, and they didn't tailor their conversations to the sensibilities of a kid.

Along those same lines my brother in his 20s thought it wasn't fair to bring more children into such a dangerous world.

His two children are now 44 and 38 years old.

My point is that, bad as things look at times and bad as they could get, we never know. All we can do is the best we can, which includes doing our best to help others to work for it too.

I think that if my parents had given me a few basic truths it would have reduced my fear a lot. Just talking it out, including the comforting thought that we're all in it together and some of the best minds on the planet are working to counteract some of the worst, would have helped.