The election of Donald Trump as the next US president may have made Australian children feel anxious and parents may need to reassure them, a community psychologist says.
Given the amount of media coverage the US election has been given in Australia, it would be naive to believe that children haven't been affected by the intensely negative campaign.
Heather Gridley from Victoria University says it's good to answer any questions their child may ask about Mr Trump as directly and as clearly as possible.
Ms Gridley says it's important to reassure them that Trump "isn't going to come into your room at night".
Children as young as three have heard of the billionaire businessman-turned-president. According to Ms Gridley she knows of one three-year-old boy who quizzed his mum about who Donald 'Trumpet' was and why he's "so mean".
"Doesn't he share his toys?" the boy asked.
There are also reports of a nine-year-old Muslim girl from Melbourne who has written an essay about the president-elect.
The girl described Mr Trump as a really "bad" person who made her teacher cry, according to news.com.au.
Ms Gridley says very young children don't understand the complexities of the election result and often just pick up on the words they hear.
"Parents need to try and give a sense of what it means to them and make it clear that there are still adults in the world who are looking after them," she said.
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