Children should learn to engage with news and current affairs

Last weekend I had an interesting conversation with my niece, who turned 30 this year, about whether or not children should watch the news, something she is particularly seized by because she is a mom.

It occurred to me that I had never really given it much thought, not because I am not a parent, but because for as long as I can remember the news has always been a part of my life.

As I reflected on it, I also realised that my parents were often in and part of the news, and I guess the immersion was that much more organic. I also thought back to visiting my grandparents in Gqeberha and how they religiously tuned in to the news.

I specifically remember my dad’s father coming back from work in the evenings with The Herald and Evening Post newspapers tucked under his arm every day, and I would often find my mom’s mother with her face buried in all the daily papers.

And so it felt a natural rhythm to fall into. But to the question of whether or not children should be exposed to the news, my offering was that I don’t think there is anything wrong with it because they need to know and understand the world they live in.

But it is critical for their parents or guardians to help them make sense of the news by providing context for better understanding. I feel strongly that a certain rigour or strength is built in children – and people in general – when they contend with current events and have a wider awareness of the world we live in and what informs it.

The conversation further made me reflect on the seeming reluctance of young people to grapple with difficult subjects or situations. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s Digital News Report 2025, which a colleague shared last week, spoke to this concern.

It found that last year, just 35% of 18- to 24-year-olds said they had high levels of interest in news, compared with 52% of those aged 55 and over.

One of the young people surveyed said: “[News about politics] makes me feel small, and no matter what my views, it won’t make any difference at all to what goes on in the country or world, so there is no point listening to it.”

The report said these young news avoiders were more likely than those who are 55 and older to say they avoided the news because it didn’t seem relevant to them or they found it hard to understand.

And this is where the guidance of parents and their community comes in, to help child­ren know that difficult things are not to be avoided, but instead can be navigated. They should learn that dealing with difficulty and complexity brings critical growth in building greater consciousness and the ability to convert information into knowledge.

My position is that once this is achieved, parents are less likely to worry about how their children exist in the world without them, and children are less likely to avoid difficult and uncomfortable things, which can, in fact, be fortifying. DM

Zukiswa Pikoli is Daily Maverick’s managing editor for Maverick Citizen and news.

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.