Advice on Kids and School Shooting: Turn Off TV
An expert shares advice for parents who are trying to explain the Newtown, CT, school shooting to their kids.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy, parents may be struggling with how to tell their children what happened. Lauren Hutchinson, a child and family therapist and parenting consultant with a practice in Bellevue, WA, advises that step one should be to “turn off the TV.” “We don’t want to have the TV playing in the background all the time," she said. "It isn’t helpful and the news is traumatizing for kids to watch.” Hutchinson says that kids 7 and younger should be shielded completely from media coverage "and parents should not initiate a conversation about the event because kids this age cannot make sense of what has happened.” “Kids don’t need to know the specific details of the event, like that the shooter was dressed …
Patrick Urquidez
10:46 pm on Tuesday, January 1, 2013
I told my kids before they heard it from somewhere else. They also know that I own guns, and they also know that they are secured with trigger locks and I carry they keys with me. Owning firearms when you have kids is safe as long as you know how to use and store them, as well as teaching your kids about the safety precautions so they understand that a gun is not a toy. more ›