The other day, as I was flipping through television channels trying to find a particular show about snakes, my boys and I caught the first few minutes of a soccer match between Australia and Indonesia. My eldest, a soccer fan, wanted to watch. As the two teams sang their anthems, I told the boys, “Let’s root for Australia. The Indonesians don’t like Americans.”

It was one of those parenting moments – and I have plenty of them – when the second the words came out of my mouth I wished I could just vacuum them back in. What kind of message was I sending to them? Did I really want them to think that all Indonesians hate all Americans?

Unfortunately, the boys didn’t even question my statement and began cheering for Australia. I tried digging myself out of the hole, telling them that my comment had been foolish and explaining why it was foolish, but they were too busy cheering for the Aussies to pay attention.

Our world has gotten complicated in the past few years. And maybe for many people in their 50s and 60s the invasions and terror alerts and struggling democracies seem like an inevitable return to geopolitical turmoil. But for many of my contemporaries who were raised in the 1970s and 1980s, the world and the dangers it now faces seem almost unrecognizable. As much as we may remember the Cold War, even during its most critical moments, there weren’t gruesome pictures in the newspaper day after day.

When I read the newspapers each morning, I often try to find a story to show my children that they will find interesting. The dead fin whale that washed ashore last week in Southampton certainly made for a lively discussion. “How much do you think the whale weighed?” I asked them. Even I had a hard time imagining any creature weighing 120,000 pounds.

But when my 6-year-old decided to flip through the paper himself, I subtly distracted him and took it away. There are too many disturbing photographs and, now that he can read, too many headlines that I’d rather he didn’t know about – yet.

My friends with older children often find themselves in discussions with their children about current events and politics. As they should. But all parents, regardless of the age of their children, struggle with the question of deciding what kind of information to share and how much of it is appropriate. We want to educate our children and broaden their horizons but at the same time protect them from events and ideas that are too much for them to handle.

The National Association of School Psychologists offers guidelines on how to navigate this tricky path. The organization advises parents to stick to the facts, as opposed to speculating about the future: Parents “can help children understand what is happening factually, how events do or do not impact their lives, and how to cope with their reactions.” The association counsels parents to let their children act as the guides as to how concerned they are or how much information they need. “If they are not anxious or focused on current events, don’t dwell on them. But be available to answer their questions to the best of your ability. Young children may not be able to express themselves verbally. Pay attention to changes in their behavior or social interactions. Most school age children and adolescents can discuss their concerns although they may need you to provide an ‘opening’ to start a conversation,” the association writes.

We are kidding ourselves if we think we can really control what our children are exposed to. When the tsunami hit last December, I didn’t feel there was a need to share the disaster with my children. I could barely wrap my own mind around what it must have been like to see the ocean recede and then roll in with such mighty force. And I could hardly explain to them what it meant for hundreds of thousands of people to be drowned.

But after a day back at school in January, my 6-year-old came home talking about one thing: the tsunami. He was filled with incorrect information – information that was more frightening than the truth. And, of course, I wished that I had been the first to discuss the tragedy with him, not some pack of fiery first-graders.

My friend with older children likened my experience to the inevitable conversation that all parents have with their children about sex. “You’d rather be the first one to get to your kid. At least they’ll have the proper information and know that the lines of communication are open,” she said.

“I think if anything, these days we try to protect our kids too much from what is going on in the world. Obviously, it depends on the kid, but if you can present information in a way that you know your child will be able to digest, that is the ideal scenario,” she added.

It is also important to offer children practical ways to make a positive, tangible contribution as a response to the adversity at hand. Even if it’s collecting clothes or raising money through a bake sale, this type of activity will enable children to feel more in control of the situation and add a level of humanity that might otherwise be absent.

“So many teenagers have become immune to the sight of destruction and killing because of television and video games,” my friend said. “As much as you don’t want to disturb your children, it’s important to find ways to make them realize that what is going on today is relevant to their lives.”

After all, in the blink of an eye it will be their job to teach their children about the world. And if it’s true that every generation feels that the world they have inherited is fraught with more complications and menacing threats than the ones that preceded it, our children will certainly have their hands full.