Following the massacre at Newtown, Conn., the Fair Media Council offered a few tips and resources to help parents and educators understand the traumatic impact news can have on the smallest members of our society. It quickly became one of our most shared pieces.
Due to the continued severity of the news — America has now seen more mass shootings than days in the year — we thought it may be helpful, and necessary, to repost this piece, with a few updates.
Please share this with parents trying to figure out what to say to their own children, as well as with educators who deal with small children.
When the news is severe, please:
- Don’t leave the news unattended in the house. Children absorb information like sponges, so what you may tune out as background noise, they notice. Be sure to stay with your kids when the news is on.
- Limit the amount of time the news is on. Unlimited exposure to the news’ cycle repetition (especially with developing stories, and a hallmark of cable news) amplifies the issue.
- Limit access to print newspapers that may carry upsetting images.
- Even the youngest of children respond to the faces they see on TV. Seeing people, especially other children unhappy or crying, is particularly upsetting to them.
- Children can’t process where something happened — especially when the images are coming into their own home, such as the living room. Make a point of explaining the images are coming from somewhere far away, to help your children feel safe in their home.
- Talk to your children about what’s in the news. Even when you don’t know what to say, ask them what they think — and, most importantly, how it makes them feel. Consider that a starting point.
Detailed information is available from a variety of sources, and it’s important to compare what ‘experts’ have to say in order for you to find your own comfort zone.
For a look at what not to say, here’s a piece from The New York Times on how not to talk with kids about the Sandy Hook shooting, but the information applies to recent current events, too
For help with what to say:
- Healthy Tips from The New York Times for Talking to Elementary School Kids
- Dealing with School Shootings: Tips from the American Psychological Association
- Nine Tips for Talking to Kids About Trauma from the Huffington Post
- Advice from A Parent Educator at a Children’s Hospital
Select Resources for Parents and Educators:
- Common Sense Media — This one’s particularly for educators
- Save the Children — Tips on helping kids cope with a crisis
- American Psychological Association — How to help kids manage distress following mass shootings
- National PTA — Tips on violence prevention and the National PTAs’ Resolution on Violence in Schools
- National Association of School Psychologists — Advice for talking to kids about violence
- Kaiser Foundation — If you wonder, or have doubts, about the media’s ability to impact children, please click this link