The dangers of telling your child too much about real life: Presenter Nadia Sawalha's daughter, 8, needs counselling after 'oversharing'

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Dinner table discussions ranging from the terror attacks in Paris to the danger of paedophiles can make the world seem like a daunting place for children.

And TV presenter Nadia Sawalha has revealed that talking frankly about current affairs, or ‘oversharing’, has led to her eight-year-old daughter needing treatment for anxiety.

The 51-year-old said that she and husband Mark Adderley have only just realised their constant chatter about the news was causing problems for their youngest daughter, Kiki.

'Oversharing': TV presenter Nadia Sawalha, 51, and her husband talked about current affairs so much around their eight-year-old daughter Kiki that she has been left needing counselling

Fear: ChildLine reported its biggest-ever spike in terrorism-related calls in the week following the Paris attacks. Pictured, Nadia with her daughters Maddy and Kiki, and husband Mark Adderley

She admitted they were both ‘really guilty’ of ‘oversharing’ – a term used to describe being too honest with youngsters about negative events in the world.

Her comments come after ChildLine revealed they received a surge in calls from British children as young as nine who were anxious about their safety in the week after the Paris attacks. It was reportedly the charity’s biggest-ever spike in terrorism-related calls.

Miss Sawalha, who also has a 12-year-old daughter Maddy, told ITV’s Loose Women: ‘I think we are really guilty of oversharing, and have only just realised that’s causing real problems. Today, and this does make me sad, I’m taking [Kiki] for her first appointment to see somebody for anxiety.

‘I think she has got a really vivid imagination. We talk a lot about the news, we have the newspapers all the time, and she has taken so much of it in. Her anxiety is about safety. They [children] are like sponges.’

She described how the previous night her TV producer husband had come home just as Kiki was falling asleep but he proceeded to discuss the stand-off between Turkey and Russia after a fighter jet was downed on the Syrian border.

Miss Sawalha, a former EastEnders actress, said: ‘He went “I can’t believe Turkey and Russia, the stand-off.”

Concern: Nadia confessed that she and her husband are 'very guilty' of oversharing in front of their children, but didn't realise that they were doing any harm, on ITV's Loose Women (pictured)

Mothering: Miss Sawalha also has a 12-year-old daughter, Maddy. Pictured, Nadia at the TV Choice Awards in London, 2010

Caring: Children's charities are urging parents to 'reassure and comfort their children...in these very uncertain and troubling times'. Pictured, emergency workers help a survivor at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris

‘I was like, “Mark, no, she’s just dropping off to sleep,” but then five minutes later I’m talking to him about Turkey and Russia over her head.’

Also on the show, Cold Feet actress Fay Ripley, 49, said that her nine-year-old son told his father that they too are both guilty of ‘oversharing’. She added: ‘I thought we were doing a really brilliant job but apparently we are saying too much.

‘My eldest is 13, and particularly for her, she has social media, she is aware, they watch the telly, they know what’s going on. One thing I do, I order the kids newspaper, called First News. That puts the headlines into a child’s perspective and I find that really useful. But you can’t ignore stuff. I just want to make it okay for them.’

Loose Women panellist Gloria Hunniford, 75, added: ‘The reality is so scary for us, so you can imagine how a child would be terrified by it.’

An NSPCC spokesman said last night: ‘It’s crucial that parents reassure and comfort their children, who will be relying on them for stability in these very uncertain and troubling times.’