Psychologists are suggesting parents keep tabs on their children's TV viewing habits as the war in Iraq goes on.

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TV images can be upsetting -- not only for children, but also for many adults.

Massachusetts General Hospital encourages parents to turn off the TV around young children or those who may have been upset by coverage in the past.

Psychology professor and family therapist Bill Forchia said parents should be alert for anxiety in kids, behavioral changes or nightmares.

If parents see signs of that, Forchia suggests TV viewing be "interrupted appropriately."

When her 3-year-old son gets up, Susanne Haddock turns off the the television news.

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Haddock, of Concord, N.H., said her son just wouldn't understand the coverage of the war in Iraq. Other parents say they are using similar strategies, answering their children's questions about the war carefully but largely protecting them from the news.

And experts agree that less information is more for children, at least until they are old enough to process and interpret what they see in the media.

Michael Kalinowski, a family studies professor at the University of New Hampshire, said young children shouldn't view too much of what the news is showing.

But Forchia said censoring the war should be no different than what parents ought to be doing when it comes to other violent shows or movies.

Watch television with older children so you can answer questions and be aware of their feelings. Some older children need to be reminded that the TV images can be overwhelming and that it's OK not to watch.

This is also true for many adults, who may be better served by listening to radio reports or reading newspaper coverage rather than watching disturbing TV images, Massachusetts General Hospital said.

Many schools have curtailed television viewing of the war. A spokeswoman for a school district in Virginia said "kids don't need to see this over and over."