Our Chicago: Talking to children about the Israel-Hamas War

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The images we have been seeing from Israel and Gaza since the surprise attacks by Hamas can be very difficult to watch.

Airstrikes, kidnappings and the death toll continuing to rise.

Locally, an Evanston mother and daughter were among those held hostage by Hamas for nearly two weeks. And a six-year-old boy from suburban Plainfield killed because he was Muslim, police say.

All of that can be hard for adults to process, and it can be even more difficult for children.

"I think a general question to any age child around, just have you heard anything scary in the news lately," says Dr. Colleen Cicchetti, a child psychologist and the Executive Director of the Center For Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children's Hospital. "What are your friends talking about. What have you seen about what might be happening in the Mideast or even locally around these issues."