Guidance Office

Even though most of us tend to be safe in our day-to-day lives, unfortunate events, such as high profile acts of violence or natural disasters, do occur.  Even if you limit your child’s exposure to the news and social media, s/he may still hear about these events from others.  At the upper-elementary age, the trickiest part about discussing a situation like this is finding balance.  At this age, children need enough information to understand the main points of what's happening, but do not need all of the details. 

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General Rules of Thumb

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• Model calmness

• Maintain normal routines

• Reassure safety and review how safety is being ensured (i.e, the school practices lockdowns, your house has locks on doors/windows)

• Find out what your child already knows

• Use your child’s questions as a starting point for how much information they are seeking and what they want to know

• Answer questions in a simple and brief manner – if you are unsure of something, it’s appropriate to say so

• Limit exposure to media coverage, and when viewing coverage, watch it with your child to filter out inappropriate content

• Ask about fears/questions and show that you take them seriously – avoid comments such as, “it’s silly to worry about ____”

• If interested, brainstorm ways to help those involved