There are countless reasons that being a parent is not easy - There are a lot of hard questions... Hard questions with answers that are even harder to say. As parents we deal today with the tragedy of another school shooting.
As tonight went on and I watched some of the news coverage, I started to ask myself some tough questions: What do I say to my kids? What do I tell them about their world? Do I respond with fear? Do I tell them the truth... Do I know the answers? Do I turn the news off... Do I leave it on? Do I bring it up OR Do I wait for them to say something? It is such a heavy topic... How do I start? After giving it some thought, I wanted to share a few ideas... 1. Ask your kids what their questions are before you give your opinion. Let them take the lead in asking questions so that you only give them the amount of information that is necessary to satisfy them. As parents, we tend to either share too little and leave them wondering, or over-explain. 2. Set a time to talk daily with no screens. 3. Be truthful with your kids that bad things do happen, but reassure them that many people are keeping them safe, including you, law enforcement and teachers. 4. Monitor how much exposure a child has to news reports of traumatic events, including these recent school shootings. 5. Review their ALICE training with them...Ask them questions, and encourage them to share what they have been taught - Remind them that they have the skills necessary to keep themselves safe. Every child responds to trauma differently. Most of our kids are quite resilient and will not miss a beat, but parents should be alert to any signs of anxiety that might suggest that a child might need more assistance. As always, call with questions or concerns. Stacy
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