Talking to Children about Violence and Grief

We are heartsick for the families of Newtown, Connecticut, for the parents who lost their little ones in unimaginable violence and evil.

This week, these parents will try to muster up the strength for their first-graders’ funerals. They will try to put on brave faces for surviving siblings and friends. They will try to heal and live on.

The sequence of events and the sadness at Sandy Hook Elementary School have touched us all deeply, moving many of us to tears.

How can this happen? Why did it happen?

We don’t have answers to many of the difficult questions, so we can’t offer reasonable explanations to our children. Many of us are struggling with how to handle the complicated topics and what words to use.

If and when inevitable questions do arise, here are links to articles with advice from trusted online sources that many educators around the country are recommending:

From the National Association of School Psychologists
TALKING TO CHILDREN ABOUT VIOLENCE: TIPS FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS

From the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
CHILDREN AND GRIEF

From the American Psychological Association
HELPING YOUR CHILDREN MANAGE DISTRESS IN THE AFTERMATH OF A SHOOTING

From the American Academy of Pediatrics
RESOURCES TO HELP PARENTS, CHILDREN AND OTHERS COPE IN THE AFTERMATH OF SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

From Child Mind Institute
CARING FOR KIDS AFTER A SCHOOL SHOOTING