How will you tell your kids?

toomuchbootyindapants

For those of you with children in school, do you plan to sit down and talk with them about the CT shootings today? I am on the fence about this as I certainly don't want to instill any fear in my kids' minds beyond what they may already have (I JUST put them back in public school LAST WEEK after homeschooling the past few years). But word travels fast and I'm sure other people/kids will be talking about it anyway.

My oldest will be home in less than an hour. It's safe to say she has probably heard something at this point. I can talk with her about anything. But my youngest, in elementary, may not handle the news as gracefully. I'd rather my kids hear about this from their mother first (because I KNOW they will hear about it from their friends)...and I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle this.

Do you plan to tell your kids and if so, what points will you emphasize?

ChrisR0se

I can't even breathe right now...I'm torn up and just the idea of the parents coming home to Thierry empty houses...I sit here and look at my tree and the gifts under it and am just broken for these families. My kids..honestly idk...how do you tell a baby without instilling fear of school in them? I'm lost..just lost

FightingforFit82

I Homeschool but Yes, we will be discussing this. I'm pretty open and honest with the kids. I will explain what happened and answer any questions they have. We will pray together and discuss compassion for the families affected and the shooters family. They all have a long hard road ahead if them What happened today was so heartbeaking and awful.

BrettPGH

Is it wrong that all I want to do is take her for a run? And maybe teach her to tuck and roll?

bahacca

I'm open and honest and will answer any questions they have IF THEY BRING IT UP. I will not be the one who introduces these circumstances. If they were older, I would, but in Kinder and 1st grade, I still really need them to feel SAFE in school.

vim_n_vigor

I won't be bringing this up with my kids but will answer questions if they ask. They are only 4 and 6.

Windy_

As soon as I get them both home we will sit and talk about it. They have friends that are in middle school in the town where this happened.

ahviendha

I agree with bahacca, if your kids ask, then tell them.

LuckyLeprechaun

I'm very grateful that my kids are all now >21.

When 9/11 happened, my son was 12. It was hard to explain and I kept him home from school that day. This is so much worse.

spade117

Not really sure at this point. Probably mention something about it and gauge the reaction, and go from there.

quirkytizzy

I can't even breathe right now...I'm torn up and just the idea of the parents coming home to Thierry empty houses...I sit here and look at my tree and the gifts under it and am just broken for these families. My kids..honestly idk...how do you tell a baby without instilling fear of school in them? I'm lost..just lost

Oh god. I forgot it was Christmas. Reading that makes me cry all over again.

chivalryder

If mine were kindergarteners?

No.

They likely wouldn't understand at all. Their world is still too small to understand such things.

SeaRunner26

I don't have any children and for once, I'm grateful for that. I can't imagine the suffering of the parents who lost a child today. If I did have children, I probably wouldn't put too much emphasis on it. I wouldn't want to cause them to worry about something that will probably never happen to them and that they cannot control. But I would hug them extra tight.

Ready2Rock206

I noticed this article by the news story - I only skimmed it, my kid is in HS so a bit older.
http://living.msn.com/family-parenting/5-tips-on-talking-to-kids-about-scary-news?ocid=msnnws

Alex_is_Hawks

Is it wrong that all I want to do is take her for a run? And maybe teach her to tuck and roll?

No...Jbean already knows how to drop it....

they had a gun incident in her Calgary school two years ago and subsequently taught them how to handle a Lock Down,

lock your room door, turn off the lights, close drapes and drop down behind your desk.

Srsly.

eatathome

This is a good resource:

http://www.pbs.org/parents/talkingwithkids/news/talking.html

GurleyGirl524

It is horrible. My oldest is 17 so he is old enough to understand as much as anyone can understand. My youngest is a special needs child and has no comprehension of anything really. I am glad I don't have to have this conversation with my children. I think it is truly truly sad. My friend has a daughter in kindergarten and the first week of school they had to learn how to react to intruders and gunmen if they came into the school. What happened to just worrying about fire drills & tornado drills. We truly live in a sad time.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

There's an article on either CNN or MSNBC that discusses what to say to your kids about this, I'd go fetch it but I can't right now . . . I just can't keep going back and looking and reading and looking . . .

corn63

Ugh, this is worse than 9/11. They're not even safe at school anymore

LoraF83

If mine were kindergarteners?

No.

They likely wouldn't understand at all. Their world is still too small to understand such things.

I disagree. They will likely hear about it and ask questions. It's better to have an honest, on their level discussion than to sweep it under the rug. That will only make it more confusing for them.

My child is 4 and understands that people die and that the world is not always safe. I don't educate her on the details of the horrific things that happen, but I will answer her questions.

laserturkey

My son is in high school, and he's actually the person who told me about it, via text message. I'm sure there will be big hugs and lots of talking at our home tonight.