'We can't go outside because they will take you away and the shops are broken,' said a four-year-old boy at Blue House Day Nursery in Croydon.
A four-year-old girl who also attends the nursery said, 'Now the shops are broken we can't go in there to buy things. Some people are bad out there.'
The children at the nursery were kept indoors and were sent home early one day because of fears over their safety.
Staff at the nursery had the difficult job of answering their questions, according to Mandy Lupton, junior deputy manager, who said the older children in particular were very inquisitive about the rioting and looting.
She said, 'They kept asking why they couldn't play outside, and they have been drawing lots of pictures of the smashed windows and burnt buildings.'
Nursery staff have shown they want to make sure they say the right thing and also allay some of the children's fears and anxieties.
Cath Hunter, a therapeutic consultant who runs Therapeutic Family Interventions, said she would advise them 'to talk about the feelings behind the behaviour that was expressed during the riots, such as anger, fear and frustration, and relate this to the children's experiences of having these feelings, along with how scary it is to watch this happening and how the adults in their lives will be keeping them safe.'
She said it was important for staff 'to stay as neutral as possible and be aware of what they are saying and to whom, in the earshot of children, as this can be the most frightening part for children - overhearing adults talking and not understanding it, but knowing it's not good.'
Nurseries need to be prepared if parents ask them for advice about what to say to their children, according to early childhood specialist Jennie Lindon.
She said, 'There are obviously children in the affected areas who may have seen smashed glass and broken shop windows. We also need to think about children who don't live in the areas that were affected, but still may have seen the violence and looting on television or in newspapers.
'I don't think it is appropriate that nurseries start discussing the subject at circle time, especially if the children don't live in an affected area. But they do need to be prepared and know what they are going to say if children ask them questions.'