John Hockenberry: So kids bring things from home into school and the question is, Do those statements and sentiments that kids have about what's going on in the world become teachable moments, or are they something deeper? Listen to Arun, he's an 11 year old.

Arun [on tape]: My father, he lost his job, but he got a new one. He works at BJ's, he used to work at Circuit City. Like, he was kinda just like emotional about losing his job, kinda felt sad and mad about the people who did this.

John Hockenberry: Sentiments, not statistics, about the economy, coming from an 11-year-old in Brooklyn. Author and counselor Denise Daniels realized she was seeing more children and families coming for help because of the stresses of the recession, so she poured all her expertise into creating a free online journal with the education group, the publisher Scholastic. The result is "What can I do?" It's a free, online journal designed for children to work through their credit-crunch anxiety. In Brooklyn, of course, there's one snapshot of the economy. But in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, where Janet Cook, a fifth grader at Iron Forge Elementary School joins us, there's another picture of the economy. Janet Krunkel, thanks for joining us.

Janet Kunkel, Iron Forge Elementary School: You're welcome.

John Hockenberry: And Denise Daniels here in the studio. Thanks so much for joining us.

Denise Daniels, "What can I do?": Good morning.

John Hockenberry: Denise, I'll begin with you. What's the difference between grief and sort of taking what happens at the dinner table at home and making it part of, say, a classroom curriculum.

Denise Daniels: Well I think really if we're talking about the economy right now, people underestimate how emotional this is. We're talking about families losing their homes, kids losing their pets, parents losing their jobs. The parents are stressed out trying to make ends meet. And kids are very intuitive and perceptive, and so they see their families grieving about that kind of loss and family transition but yet so much attention has been focused on the parents that we're realize that kind of grief or loss reverberates through the entire family, and that's why it's so important to not overlook the children.

John Hockenberry: Well I want to talk about strategies for dealing with some of the kids. But let's note that Arun, 11, from Brooklyn is a student from Eugenia Maria De Hostos School and pictures of the students at that school who participated in this segment are on our Web site. They're at Intermediate School 318. And also, you can hear the sound of students from Janet Krunkel's class. Here's Maya Brown talking about how the economy has affected her family.

Maya Brown [on tape]: Hi, this is Maya Brown, calling from Mrs. Krunkel's class. How has the economy affected you and how is your family saving money during these tough times? The economy is affecting me because my mom is very close to losing her job and it concerns me a whole lot, and we are trying to buy less junk that we really don't need and only getting the very most important things in the store to save a lot of money.

John Hockenberry: So Janet Krunkel were you surprised to learn that about your student Maya?

Janet Kunkel: Yes, in a way, but in another way not because children come to school every day with different stresses from home and some are very open about what the stress is, and others you just know that there is something that's bothering them. And, so, sometimes you're not surprised to find out that there is something but you're just not necessarily aware of what it might be.

John Hockenberry: Well, Denise Daniels, mentioning something that's close to the heart of an 11-year-old versus not mentioning it are two very, very different approaches and you can really get it wrong. What advice do you have Denise?

Denise Daniels: Well, absolutely. What I say with children is, what's mentionable is manageable, because children if they don't have accurate, age-appropriate information they're often times very confused. Kids are intuitive, they're perceptive, they understand what's going around them. They may not have information, but they can see their parents stressed out. They know that everybody's emotional and so it's very important that we give them developmentally appropriate information so that they have a clear understanding of what is happening.

John Hockenberry: Here's another 11-year-old. Her name is Anna.

Anna [on tape]: My mom she came home yesterday really stressed out. She said now that the recession is getting worse her boss is much more strict. And she was really mad yesterday. She was late, worried, and I was worried too that she would get laid off.

John Hockenberry: Now, Janet Krunkel, when a student mentions something like that, is that a warning sign to you or is that an indication that well this kid is working through it and is managing a situation that probably is pretty stressful, we'll let her do it on her own.

Janet Kunkel: I like to hear that they're talking about it because I feel like with them being ready to talk about it, I'm able to, on a more casual level than a counseling session, I'm able to give them the pat on a back and say to them, are they having a good day? Not necessarily bringing up the exact topic. But I also find with kids at the age that I deal with, that they like the consistency of school. It's a safe place, they like that schedule to go on, they like to know that they're world is kind of continuing.

John Hockenberry: Is part of the motivation in creating the site "What can I do?" to create this safe place where parents and students maybe can learn about how to communicate more effectively?

Denise Daniels: Absolutely. We have a parents' guide as well and we thought that was really important. And the workbook is really a guide for parents, but it's also an interactive resource and tool that parents can use with their children. It really helps kids learn coping strategies, it helps them identify emotions. It teaches the difference between self worth and net worth, which is really a neat skill that we want to teach our children, and values, as well. Need versus want. It teaches wonderful delayed gratification, emotional intelligence skills. So we think it's really important to take this teachable moment and really give these kids coping skills that can last a lifetime.

John Hockenberry: And perhaps some of these kids, here's Anaja from Brooklyn. She's also an 11-year-old. Maybe they should be on some of the financial channels.

Anaja [on tape]: I think people should just relax because everybody's so all over the place worrying about, "Oh, where my money's going to go. Oh, how am I going to pay for this?" I think everybody just needs to take a break, relax and think about what you can do that doesn't cost a lot of money. And then maybe our economy will get better.

John Hockenberry: Often wisdom from 11-year-olds, right, Janet Krunkel?

Janet Kunkel: I would say so.

John Hockenberry: Denise Daniels, do kids have as much advice to give as maybe to get in these tough times?

Denise Daniels: I think they do. If you listen to all of these kids they're very much aware of what's going on. And I'm very much a proponent of having family meetings, where, once-a-week, families get together and they talk about lifestyle changes or adjustments they need to make in the family. Kids particularly the age of Maya's students really want to feel effective and empowered. They want to make a contribution. We've got kids saying, "Well, now instead of having our dog groomed we wash our dog ourselves", or "We pack our lunch at home instead of doing it at school." One of the kids earlier was talking about turning off lights. Someone was assigned in the family to turn off lights. All of those are little things but they become huge things in helping families cope during these tough economic times.

John Hockenberry: And you can see and hear all the kids who were on this segment on our Web site. I want to thank Denise Daniels, author and co-founder of the National Childhood Grief Institute and Janet Krunkel, our friend on The Takeaway, teaches fifth grade at Iron Forge in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. Thanks to you both.

Janet Kunkel: Thanks, John.