Kid's anxiety and depression about big-world stuff

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How do you help school-aged kids deal with the anxiety they feel from being exposed to things like pollution, terrorism and nuclear war?

They seem to always be learning about pollution and conservation in school. I agree that it's important for kids to have an awareness, and to do their own little part, like throwing away their trash and not wasting water. But my little guy (8 years old) seems to be carrying a burden, knowing about big things like mass extinctions and disappearing rain forests.

I had hoped to keep the knowledge of nuclear weapons away from him, but he hears things. That's such a scary thing for anyone, but especially for a kid.

I can see that he's full of anxiety and depression about these things, and it's not passing. He hasn't specifically said that these are the things that are making him upset and making it hard for him to sleep; he's not able to articulate that. But he often makes little comments like, "Today was not a good day because too many people drive cars," and then it turns out that he's worried about CO2 emissions and climate change. (I do believe climate change is a real, man-made problem, but I don't believe in putting the weight of the world on a little kid's shoulders.)

Is anyone else here having to deal with such things? For your AS, NT, or otherwise kids? (This particular kid is not AS, but he's got severe sensory issues which no one knows what to do about, which keep him from eating well...and he comes from a family full of AS-trait people.)

Any thoughts would be welcome.

My NT daughter worries more than my AS son, and I've tended to try to deal with it by putting it all in perspective, as in "what are the odds?" Or, "there is plenty of time for things to improve, they just want us to all do our little part." I don't think at age 8 they understand how small a part of the picture that one car is, and they need some help relating the issue to day to day reality.

Action also helps - get him involved in a "green team" or school recycling initiative. The more he feels he has some control over it all, the less anxiety he should feel. AS have a strong need for control over life, remember.

[Removed - M.]

My brother used to worry about things like that when he was a kid, specifically about nuclear war. My mom handled it by telling him that if someone dropped a nuclear bomb on the place where we were living, we'd all die. Once he had a clear answer about what would happen, he stopped worrying about it. Maybe now that your son's already worrying about it, you should have a very matter-of-fact discussion about what's happening and what's going on. You could turn researching factual information about the issues and possible solutions into a game of sorts. The world isn't nearly as scary a place once you know what's going on.

Talk to your child about what they can do to help. Start a compost bin, plant a tree, have a garden, if you don't have space you can join a community garden, buy your vegetables at a farm market or a farm share, reduce consumption of packaged mass produced foods, eat organic as much as affordable, have your child sort the recycling. Sometimes being able to do something (even a very little thing) helps make things feel a little less overwhelming. Maybe subscribe to Mother Earth News or have the child look on the internet to see all the great progress that is being made and all the little ways people are helping so that he can see that there are things being done to get the situation under control.

In addition, I reread your entry. Your child claimed it was not a good day because he saw one negative. You could try to point out at least one positive thing a day, when he says he sees too many cars on the highway maybe count how many flex fuel cars he can find.
You are right, it is a lot for a little kid to handle, and sometimes learning about all of it every where is just overwhelming to kids, I hope you can help your son find a way to come to terms with it. Good luck.

Give him a copy of the Skeptical Environmentalist. That cured school induced whack job environmentalism real quick.