When it comes to talking to her two primary school aged kids about climate change, Nina Roberts chooses her words carefully.

She wants to be honest, but she doesn't want to scare them.

So even though she thinks adults "need to switch into an emergency mode", she doesn't use the word 'emergency' with her kids.

"The burden of that is on adults," she says.

"I don't want them feeling like as children they have to be in emergency mode, because I actually think that's not a fair thing for kids to be feeling."

But not everyone agrees that toning down the language is the right approach.

So just how do you respond when kids ask curly questions about climate change, or are feeling overwhelmed about the future they may face?

'He was so distressed'

The Roberts family has a strong connection with nature that began with simply spending time outdoors — camping, gardening, visiting beaches and forests.

"That's mostly where their strong feelings of wanting to get active are currently coming from," says Ms Roberts, who is a member of Australian Parents for Climate Action.

"I fear for their future, but they are fearing for the places that they love."

The family now attends environmental protests like the School Strikes for Climate.

Nina Roberts' children made signs for a recent climate change rally. ( Supplied: Nina Roberts )

But one protest, against the Adani coal mine, sparked a "tough moment" for her son, who was around six at the time.

He became "absolutely devastated" about global warming and damage to the Great Barrier Reef.

"He cried, and he was so distressed, and I was quite taken aback just how strong his feelings were," Ms Roberts says.

Fiona Boyer knows that feeling as well.

The worries occupying the mind of her 15-year-old son Charlie sometimes leave her speechless.

"It makes me actually feel quite worried for him because we don't know how to pacify his thoughts. We don't know how to quiet his mind," she says.

Charlie says concerns about our planet's extreme temperatures sometimes make him want to "give up on things".

Lots of his peers are "panicked" about their futures, but he feels "as a single person I can't do too much".

How parents can help

Environmental psychologist and therapist Dr Susie Burke co-wrote the Australian Psychological Society guidelines on talking to children about climate change.

What to say to very young children Talk about the environmentally-friendly things you do every day.

Talk about the environmentally-friendly things you do every day. "We put food scraps in the compost bin, so the worms and other little creatures can make good soil for growing veggies and flowers."

"We put food scraps in the compost bin, so the worms and other little creatures can make good soil for growing veggies and flowers." "Let's buy these apples and pop them in our own bag, not those ones which have all that plastic around them." For primary school-aged children Keep to simple but honest answers.

Keep to simple but honest answers. "The Earth is getting hotter because we have used too much stuff like petrol, gas and plastic."

"The Earth is getting hotter because we have used too much stuff like petrol, gas and plastic." "We have to save water because we haven't had as much rain as usual this year because the climate is changing." No matter what age be sure to: Point out many people are working to stop the climate changing too much.

Point out many people are working to stop the climate changing too much. Explain that there are things that everyone can do to help like recycling or writing letters.

Explain that there are things that everyone can do to help like recycling or writing letters. Point out that big problems have been solved in the past through many people working together.

Point out that big problems have been solved in the past through many people working together. Discuss what you and your child can do to make a difference. *Source: Australian Psychological Society

She says parents have a moral responsibility to protect their children — and that includes being active in the climate change debate.

"Climate change threatens their children's future so strongly than anything else does at the moment," Dr Burke says.

But, she says, it's vital for parents to talk in age-appropriate terms.

"It's quite easy for younger children to be thinking that climate change is an imminent threat to their lives and to their family's lives because of the use of the language like 'climate emergency' and things like that," she says.

"This is a huge problem. However, not to their immediate lives."

But City of Port Phillip councillor Dick Gross doesn't agree.

His council was one of the first to declare a "climate emergency", and he says there is space for that phrase in conversations with kids.

"The moral panic that we're terrifying our kids is either not true or it's exaggerated," he says.

His council recently held a forum to help parents talk about climate change, but Mr Gross says he needs more than anecdotal evidence and speculation about the levels of anxiety.

"To get people to change their beliefs on climate change, you have to have tangible evidence and you have to scare people," he says.

"Until the evidence comes in that there's been an outbreak of mental ill health because of the climate conversation, I'll still continue to take my view that from an epistemological point of view, we have to scare people or at least make them aware."

Children have been driving recent climate change protests in Australia. ( Getty: Asanka Ratnayake )

Empowering kids to be part of the solution

Dr Burke says there is anecdotal evidence that many children are already aware, and they are scared.

She advocates an approach that empowers a child to be part of the solution.

That's supported by Julie Gaul from the NSW Early Childhood Environmental Education Network, who says it's important to "offer hope rather than panic".

"We all need to know that we can make a difference and by all of us doing something small, we can contribute to a bigger picture," she says.

"Children are very capable, and competent, and resilient really."

Nina helps Frieda and Sam research the answers to their questions. ( Supplied: Nina Roberts )

Dr Burke advocates for parents to support their children, which could include helping their child write or send their letters to a local politician, or to heroes of the environmental movement.

"It's helping children to shift their anxiety from just focusing on the troublemakers," Dr Burke says.

Ms Roberts has taken that approach with her children.

In response to the Adani mine, for example, her son drew a "really powerful" drawing for the Prime Minister.

And often, she helps her kids research the answers to their questions.

"I think it's actually really good to say, 'I don't actually know why that is, let's look into it together' and then they get a sense of leading the inquiry as well, so it keeps them more engaged," she says.

But she is careful to be a firm gatekeeper to the raft of information out there.

"I try not to give them more information than what is appropriate for their age," she says.