Children and Trauma
I am no expert on how to talk to children about school shootings. Who is? There shouldn’t have to be experts on such horrific subjects. But I am just a mom, like many of you, with a broken heart and so many questions. Questions of how best to help my young children understand and get past this tragedy that took the lives of 26 innocent people, 20 of which were young children, on Friday, December 14, in Newtown, Connecticut. Questions of how to comfort and reassure their innocent hearts and minds about their safety and their faith in the goodness of our world. So instead of offering advice, advice that I could not possible give, I offer you resources. Resources to inform, to connect, and to empower you as a loving and hopeful parent.
How to Help Kids Deal with Trauma and Tragedy
- How to Talk to Your Kids About School Shootings (Home Stories A to Z)
- How to Talk to Kids About the Newtown School Shooting (Dr. Michele Borba)
- How and What to Share with Children When Tragedy Strikes (The MOB Society)
- Talking to Kids About the Newtown School Shooting (Parenting.com)
- Talking with Kids About News (PBS Parents)
- Help Children Cope with Loss, Death, & Grief (National Assoc. of School Psychologists)
- How to Talk to Kids About Tragedies in the Media (Child Development Institute)
- Talking to Kids About Violence (National Education Assoc. Health Information Network)
- How to Talk to Your Kids About Unfortunate Tragedies (All Parents Talk)
- What Parents Need to Know About Childhood Trauma (Trauma & Children)
- Sesame Street Stressful Event PSA Videos
- Activities for Kids Dealing with Grief (The Dougy Center)
- 5 Children’s Books that Deal with Death, Loss, & Grief (I Can Teach My Child)
- 10 Books that Explain Grief & Death to Children (Babble)
Do you plan to address the recent school shooting with your children? At what age do you think it is appropriate?
Victoria says
My name is Victoria London and I am the Executive Creative Designer for Moose Tracks ‘n Lace, a small start up business. Our mission is to help those who are grieving the loss of a loved one, experienced a traumatic event or just struggling with everyday life issues.
I am trying to find content for my clients to help with their issues.
I came across your “Helping kids deal with trauma & tragedy 14 resources for parents” and I wanted to see if I can put a link to your page on my website/Facebook page so that my clients can be directed to your page to download themselves?
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
~Victoria~
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama says
Absolutely. You can include a link to this article on your page as long as you don’t copy and paste the entire article onto your page/website. Thank you for asking and for the great work you are doing for kids!
Heather says
Sandy Hook is such a horrible tragedy. I was working at a residential facility when 9/11 occurred. I wrote an article about helping children deal with traumatic events (after hurricane Sandy) based on my experience with helping children after 9/11.
The article provides a framework to help children move beyond the trauma. It is important to always keep the needs of the children in mind.
http://www.thehelpfulcounselor.com/helpkidswhohaveexperiencedtraumaticevent/
All My Best,
Heather
drkaytrotter says
Great post, you might want to consider adding mine to your list of resources. It’s titled “Create a Sense of Safety After a Crisis”
Here is the link to it. http://drkaytrotter.wordpress.com/?p=1644&preview=true
Thanks Dr.Kay