Helping Children Cope with Traumatic Events

[jisp]

Yesterday's news was terrifying and upsetting. Many of us who are parents were pretty shaken by it. So you can imagine that our children will also be impacted, regardless of where they live. Here are some resources to help them cope and to guide you as you talk to them about this horrific event.
www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/child-and-adolescent-mental-health/children-and-violence.shtml

[healthy11]

Thank you, jisp. Another good resource is rems.ed.gov/docs/SAMHSA_TipsTalkingChildrenYouthTraumaticEvents.pdf

I'm concerned that these violent acts are seem to be happening more and more frequently, and I do wonder how much the media coverage is contributing to them. In the eyes of unstable people, getting attention/their name in the news, even if for heinous crimes, may be perceived as a way to ensure they'll be remembered, versus being a "nobody" "on the fringes," that society has forgotten. I can't imagine why else these individuals try to kill so many other innocent victims in their rampages.

[empeg1]

Yes, horrifying. One young woman, a teacher 27 years old, died defending the lives of her 6 year old students. She had closed them all in the closets of her classroom before she faced the gunman. Another teacher, of 5 year olds, locked her room and read to the children, trying to keep them calm. Can you imagine the thoughts of this teacher as she held that book in her hands? The custodian ran through the halls of the school, yelling for teachers to lock their rooms. How more incidents like this will we tolerate? Please hug your children today. And, think of those teachers who put the lives of their students before their own.

[momfromma]

Yes. I feel lucky to have kids who are adult. This is already so hard to process as an adult. I cannot even imagine what to tell a kid who hears this story, not to talk about kids who went through his ordeal and came out physically unarmed.