"wartime house" means: Any of a large number of modest, wooden frame houses, typically of Cape-Cod design, built in municipalities across Canada during the 1940s u.... This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.