Rocked to the core

Today’s mass killing of innocent young children and adults in the Sandy Hook Elementary School has rocked us to our core. On the “violence continuum” this is off the chart, an extraordinary, unthinkable act by a disturbed individual. It shatters our belief of school as a safe haven– a place where we can just be that we count on as being safe. I was an elementary principal and can only imagine the horror of the scene.

As we adults grieve and process what happened and seek information and motive, we need to keep in mind that our own children still count on us to protect and care for them emotionally and psychologically. This means acting as responsible adults who make their needs the priority.

Not all children will hear about the shooting, nor do they need to, especially young children, and we should avoid burdening them unnecessarily. If they are older, directly affected, or do ask questions, we can respond in a way that reduces anxiety and builds their sense of security. While devastating, we need to remember that school shootings and other fatal acts are still very rare, and that less than 2% of youth murders occur in school. This statistic does not make what happened easier to accept, but it does put it in perspective as we and our children cope.

What do we say?

If your children do ask questions about the tragedy or are exposed to media coverage, we can mitigate the negative effect…

• First, sit down together.
• Turn off the TV, computers, and cell phones.
• Then reassure them, and yourselves, that they are safe, that school shootings are extremely rare.
• Listen to their concerns.
• Answer questions rationally and calmly, according to the child’s developmental level.
• Give only the information asked for; grizzly details are harmful and produce more anxiety.
• Keep the TV off while your children are around.
• Create normalcy by doing your usual routines.
• Love and be there for them.

And then we can search our souls for what we can and need to do to help our country heal and become a less violent place.