How to talk with kids after Texas shooting

The mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Tuesday that left 19 children and two adults dead is weighing on the hearts and minds of a nation.

Once again in the violent year of 2022, we are grieving and asking the usual questions after another mass shooting – why, what can be done to stop it and do we as people have the will to take steps to keep it from happening again?

But there are issues that may be or should be addressed in our own families – how to talk with our kids after another traumatic event – one that may leave them feeling vulnerable and scared?

Thursday’s Smart Talk addresses those issues with Dr. Brian Allen (PhD), a clinical psychologist and director of mental health services at the Center for the Protection of Children at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital and Brandy Fox, Director of Cross Sector Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Initiatives with the Pennsylvania Key ,that is part of Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning.

How to talk with children after tragic events from pbs.org

Other resources:

The Pennsylvania Key has a webpage focused on Trauma: RESOURCES TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AROUND TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES – THE PENNSYLVANIA KEY (pakeys.org) where several of the resources below are linked in one place.

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network:

Microsoft Word – Tips for Parents Media final_shooting (nctsn.org)

Danielle Lewis (nctsn.org) “Talking to children about the shooting”

restoring_safety_aftermath_of_mass_shooting_for_parents.pdf (nctsn.org)

From the Child Mind Institute:

Helping Children Cope With Trauma (childmind.org)

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