Talking To Your Kids About the Newtown Tragedy
PBS has strategies for talking and listening to your children about the news.
Photos
Updated 7:15 p.m. with additional information from Superintendent David Fleishman.
In the wake of the Newtown, CT shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, parents may find their children hearing about the tragedy or seeing it on the news and find themselves in a difficult discussion.
For parents seeking guidance on how to address the tragedy with their own children, if it comes up, PBS has an article with flexible suggestions for answering kids' questions about the news.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also has a 24-hour hotline dedicated to providing disaster crisis counseling at 1-800-985-5990 or by texting "TalkWithUs" to 66746. The hotline is open to U.S. residents who are experiencing psychological distress as a result of a natural or man-made disasters, incidents of mass violence or any other disasters.
SAMHSA also has tips for students, schools, adults, families, responders and health professionals in dealing with tragedies.
In addition, an article on GalleyCat offers a list of library books that can help kids cope and talk about the Newtown tragedy.
In a message sent to parents Friday afternoon, Newton Superintendent David Fleishman says support will be available for students on Monday when they return to school.
Fleishman also posted a message on the district's website stating that he has met with all Newton principals and leaders of the citywide safety team to discuss how best to support students and staff when they return to school on Monday.
The district recommends the following resources when considering how to discuss the tragedy with children:
Adam Maleson
11:54 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
I remember Mr. Rogers in 1991 doing a little TV announcement on PBS about "how to talk to kids about war . . ." His advice was basically to tell your kids that nobody is going to hurt THEM. Then it's ok, according to Reverend Rogers in his Makebelieveland.
According to Mr. Rogers, the only issue was to assure American kids that no harm was going to come to themselves personally, and that was supposed to calm the children's anxieties, and make them stop worrying about the war. Reminds you of the subtitle to Dr. Strangelove "how I learned to stop worrying and love The Bomb".
We live in a society of insincerity and hypocrisy. Suddenly Newton children, and adults, are supposed to be distraught because a classroom of children was shot up in Connecticut. Terrible Tragedy, Unbelievable Sorrow. Meanwhile, for the last 10 years Newton school children have been taught that the Americans shooting up innocent children and adults in Afghanistan and Iraq are Heroes.
The simple fact is that if this shooter in Connecticut had gone to Iraq or Afghanistan and done the same exact thing, you'd be teaching your children that he was a Hero defending their Freedom. STOP being hypocrites, STOP lying to your children. STOP lying to yourselves. Your taxes pay for this kind of atrocity every single day.
Children, teachers, & parents in Iraq & Afghanistan are not supposed to be considered Human Beings by us. Their deaths are not worthy of media attention in Newton. STOP BEING HYPOCRITES.
Adam Maleson
4:28 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Piers Morgan for President of The United States 2016