The story and images of James Foley's beheading by Islamist militants were shared by many news outlets — including Channel One News, a digital content provider aimed at bringing news to young people.

Although the channel only aired stills from the video, many parents were outraged their children were exposed to such gruesome news to students as young as 8.

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, says kids should be exposed to current events, but teachers in classrooms should be mindful of their students' ages when talking about the news.  

"You don't want to be dishonest. You don't want to say anything like 'This will never happen again,' or 'There's absolutely nothing to worry about,'" Lempert says.

On the other hand, he says it's important to comfort the child.

"In the case of the terrible ISIS incidents, it is important to give the child context and let them know it happened far away and that this is not something they need to be worried about happening in their neighborhood," Lempert says.