How will you tell your kids?

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.

yep, my kid and his school are well trained in lock downs too...we all are since the Taber shooting shortly after Columbine. I was in highschool just outside of Taber when it happened, plus I got threatened at my work place when a recently fired employee threatened to come back with a shotgun and blow us all away. It makes me less panicky to know that i have protocal.

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.

Yup. Kids are more afraid of things if they have parents who are acting afraid and secretive. It's likely that your children, no matter how young, will be exposed to this. Be calm, explain at their age level, and only say more if they ask questions. While you don't have to tell them every detail, don't ever tell them they're too young to understand or try to hide information from that that they are requesting. This just makes the "secret" they're not privy to seem scarier.

It's also a good time to teach some survivor techniques. Assure them that it is unlikely that they will ever have to use these techniques but ensure that they would know to run, hide, be quiet, etc. If they don't already know, teach them to dial 911. That type of stuff.

This will make the child feel empowered. People who feel empowered are less fearful.

Whatever you do, don't transmit your fears to them. I mean, really, while this is a horrific tragedy for the people involved, it's not something that 99.9% of us will ever encounter. The odds are that your child will live a long, safe life without ever being involved in any kind of shooting. This is not something you or they should lose sleep over.

I see no reason to tell a young child at all unless they've heard about it and are curious.

And I've heard so many people say that they're going to begin homeschooling now.. really? You might as well chain your child to their bed and not allow them in grocery stores, malls, or anywhere public as well. And their friend's parents might be closet murderers, so avoid friendships too.

It's a very sad tragedy indeed, but putting your child in a bubble won't keep them any safer.

Also I told my kids if there is someone shooting to hurry lay down and PRETEND you are dead! Less chances of being shot!! Not many chances but LESS

I told my 6, and 4 year old, that something really sad happened. A man went to a school and killed some kids and some grown ups. I then answered their questions as best I could, usually with "I don't know". We figured they'd hear about it at school and it'd be better to hear it from us.

I honestly don't think I would "tell" my kids (if I had any, anyway). If they had questions or where upset, obviously I would address it, but it doesn't feel like it needs a big ordeal made about it.

I mean, I was in elementary school during the Columbine shooting. I recognized it was a horrible thing, but I don't think I had questions or began fearing for my life after that. It was just sort of an event that helped me understand life is uncertain and bad things happen.

My kids are 5, 11 & 13. When they came home I told them that I loved them... Held each of them tightly & then told them that a horrible tragedy had happened... We had a brief conversation about it but I did tell them.

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.

I'm glad kids are getting this kind of support. My hearts go out to the families of those who died today... ):

I won't be telling them unless they hear and then ask. I see no reason to scare them. We have been dealing with two local-ish girls who were kidnapped and recently found by hunters. having to explain to my daughter that the little girls bodies had been found was hard enough. I just don't think they need to know at this point in time. I will just be grateful that I can hold them and hug them. my thoughts are with those families. I am just so sad about this tragedy. so terrible.

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

I agree. I don't see a reason to discuss it and scare them if they don't bring it up. They are 5 and 7. They are well aware there are bad people out there. It's not sheltering them from it, just preserving their awe and wonder.

It's just like I am not discussing the injustice and wars around the world with them either unless they ask.

I want them to be cautious in life, but not afraid of life.

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

I agree. I don't see a reason to discuss it and scare them if they don't bring it up. They are 5 and 7. They are well aware there are bad people out there. It's not sheltering them from it, just preserving their awe and wonder.

It's just like I am not discussing the injustice and wars around the world with them either unless they ask.

I want them to be cautious in life, but not afraid of life.

I believe you need to aware your kids of the world.... EXAMPLE today.. What does an innocent child do with out guidance ?

I think kids are more resiliant than we often give them credit for - and they can usually make better sense of the world than we give them credit for too. If I had to be making this decision (my son is 7 but Autistic) I would talk to him about it, I definitely wouldn't hide it and if he wanted I would be ok with him watching coverage of it on tv. However, if you'd asked me two years go what I'd do I would've replied differently - now I've seen first hand how well young children handle trauma and how they process it. I think they handle it better than most adults.

I teach 6th graders and I made a special effort today to avoid saying anything or accidentally having a news story on the screen. I wanted their parents to be the ones to help them through it. I don't know what I'll say if they mention it Monday.

I don't have any kids of my own, but the images of the kids coming out of that school were gut-wrenching and I say that with 100% sincerity. Just horrific. Little babies like that should never be forced to deal with the aftermath of something like that.

And then I saw that some of them had actually been interviewed by the press and I wanted to scream! Media should not be allowed anywhere near those children. Ask the police, ask the administrators of the school, but leave the kids out of it, for god's sake!

My kids knew about it before they came home from school. My 7th grader said they were playing it on the school news televisions at lunch time. It is terrible to know that all those babies were lost because someone got mad at his mother.

Only if they bring it up. Then will be straight forward

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/dec/14/counselors-urge-parents/


http://www.boston.com/dailydose/2012/12/14/how-talk-kids-about-the-connecticut-school-shooting/GsG2TFfNSH1IohWneiXioN/story.html