Study finds Australian kids are worried about war and terrorism

"I get scared when I think about people being poor and hungry," she said.

But just as her fear of being stung won't stop Arielle from jumping in the pool - "I just have to check before we go in," mum Rebekah said - her fear of what's happening overseas doesn't stop her from lending a helping hand.

Arielle, who feels "bad" about wars, has already raised $40 by selling her old toys to buy a bike for a girl overseas who can't go to school.

"In terms of wars and knowing that there is bad stuff out there, I think probably encouraging her to do something about it has helped placate some of those fears," Rebekah said.

Arielle isn't alone. An international World Vision report has revealed that safety is Australian children's greatest fear, with 35 per cent perceiving war and terrorism to be the biggest threat. Fear of failure and capitalism were also flagged as issues.

The fear of losing a family member was the second biggest issue, worrying 22 per cent of Australian children - a figure bested only by German children, at 24 per cent, and matched by Ireland.

Canadian children were less concerned with the loss of a loved one, with only 3 per cent harbouring such a fear. The majority were more preoccupied with sharks, spiders and the dark.

Syrian children were most concerned by the threat of war, with 43 per cent of children fearing explosions and airstrikes.

World Vision Australia chief advocate Tim Costello said that, more than ever, children are passively absorbing news and information.

"Children who are, psychologically in their development, vulnerable, are just exposed to more.

"As adults, [we] have lost a little bit of that control and that tense of manners to say that it's appropriate for children to not hear things, to have social media turned off and [the] TV turned off," he said.

However Rebekah argued there is merit in allowing children to understand what's happening beyond their immediate sphere, allowing Arielle to watch the news.

"As much as I can, I like to protect her innocence, and I do try to keep her away from the harshness of the news, but I do let her have snippets of it because she does need to know the world is not perfect," she said.

"That's where I do allow her to have some knowledge of it, that's the part where I say, 'Well the world's not perfect, we need to be grateful for the situation we're in and we need to act on behalf of others that have less-than-ideal circumstances.' "

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Tim Costello is World Vision Australia's chief executive.