How to talk with your kids about tragedies
Tragedies like the Orlando shooting on Sunday are becoming more common in America. As kids become exposed to more of these situations, the need to talk with them about such tragedies grows.
John Condron, the clinical director of Healthy Place Counseling in Pocatello, said it’s important that parents are proactive in starting the conversation.
“Some of these kids are waiting to see, ‘Can I talk to mom and dad about this?'” said Condron. “They’re not going to bring it up. They’re waiting to hear from us and how we bring it up.”
When talking about these kinds of events with younger kids, it’s important to use concrete and simple wording. In the case of the Orlando shooting, a parent could say, “A bad man shot and killed people.”
The same applies for older kids, which Condron classifies as kids older than fifth grade.
Most importantly, it’s OK to tell your kids you don’t know everything yet.
“I’d say to encourage kids and adults to give it a little bit of time and not assume that they know what happened here,” Condron said. “The FBI still doesn’t know what happened here. They’re still working on it, so it’s kind of silly for us to think that we do.”
Condron also said it’s important to stop talking about these things. After having a talk, a parent could say, “If you have more questions, I’ll answer them.” It’s important, however, not to let these events consume you and your kids.
To help assure safety, you can also tell your kids some relative risks. For example, you’re more likely to become president than to be involved in one of these events.
