Lester Holt: Talking about the news with kids empowers them and makes things less scary

• Lester Holt is the anchor of "NBC Nightly News: Kids Edition."
• The news show kicked off during the pandemic to help kids understand what was happening.

When the pandemic started, as the NBC News staff was consumed with getting viewers the latest information, the news anchor Lester Holt and others kept thinking about what kids must be going through at a time when even adults didn't have answers.

That was the impetus for starting "NBC Nightly News: Kids Edition." At first the broadcast was focused on answering kids' questions about COVID-19. But as the news cycle evolved, so did the show. Holt has covered tough topics including the murder of George Floyd, the attack on the Capitol, and now the war in Ukraine for the nation's youngest viewers.

"The news is often scary by the nature of the stories we have to cover," Holt, a father and grandfather, told Insider. But he added that kids are bound to hear bits of information at school or home, and having all the facts can make adult concepts less frightening.

"The more we know, the more facts we have, the more it puts the story in perspective: the relative threat, the dangers, and how we protect ourselves," Holt said. "That's empowering for kids."

Sparking kid-sized conversations

Of course, producing a news segment for kids is different from preparing "Nightly News." Recent episodes about the war in Ukraine have talked about people leaving their homes because of the war, but Holt hasn't covered darker stories like the atrocities in Bucha.

"We give them the important tentpoles of the story," Holt said, adding that he hopes that gets kids asking questions and working with their parents or other adults to find more information.

It's the same thing Holt tries to do with his adult audiences on "Nightly News" and "Dateline." "We spark conversations," he said.

Holt said that when he was raising his two sons, the boys would hear about a story in the news, like a budget deficit, and ask Holt about certain solutions, like raising taxes — then the conversation would flow about the implications of different options.

"We would walk them through decision-making," Holt said. "It doesn't sound like it, but it made for good dinnertime conversations."

Fact-checking for kids

With a constant flow of information, it's more important than ever for kids to learn how to discern fact from fiction, find reliable information, and do their own analysis of topics — the focus of a "Nightly News: Kids Edition" segment.

"I would hope that parents would be there to encourage kids to get facts, be critical thinkers, and ask questions," Holt said.

Ending with inspiration

An "Inspiring Kids" segment in each episode highlights children who saw an issue in their community and created a solution, like a girl who started a newspaper.

"It's nice to showcase them and help truly inspire other kids: You don't have to sit on the sidelines. You can make a difference," Holt said.

Ending on a positive note is important to Holt.

"I want viewers — both kids and adults — to feel affirmed about the goodness of people, the potential of people, and our power to make a difference," he said.

Lester Holt's show streams every Thursday at 4 pm ET on NBCNews.com, NBC News Apps — TVs and mobile, the NBC News YouTube channel, and Peacock.