“As parents, we are lost,” a mom of two young children, who lives in Paris, told CNN.
“When we feel ourselves bombarded by images of brutal, ruthless violence and evidence of unbridled hate, the question of how to protect our children is a complex one,” said Dr. Claudia Gold,a pediatrician, infant mental health specialist and author of Keeping Your Child in Mind: Overcoming Defiance, Tantrums and Other Everyday Behavior Problems by Seeing the World through Your Child’s Eyes.”We immediately jump to ask, ‘What do I say?’ “
Gold and other parenting experts I consulted for this story stressed that the age of children and their temperament really determines what — and how much — to share.
If possible, children younger than 5 do not need to be told about what happened or exposed to any of the media coverage, said Tricia Ferrara, a licensed professional counselor, parenting strategist and author of “Parenting 2.0: Think in the Future, Act in the Now.” “Keeping to routine is the best way to reassure children about the safety of their immediate world,” she said.
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Children ages 6 to 11 need just basic facts and minimal exposure to media coverage, she said, adding that there are definite lessons from what children saw in the media following the September 11, 2001, attacks. She points to studies that found that children who had repeated and prolonged exposure to media images had more difficulty with anxiety than kids with less exposure.
In a statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics urged parents to be careful with images that children see following the Paris terror attacks. “As pediatricians, we know that violence can have lasting effects on children even if they are only learning about it through the media,” the statement said. The organization offered more resources for parents on how to talk to children about mass tragedies.
“A child will store the event in memory based on the narrative you assign the event,” Ferrara said. “For this age range, stick to basic facts and turn off the TV.”
Dr. Gail Saltz, associate professor of psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, agrees, and said parents of young children should “stick to basic broad-stroke facts” and avoid any “nitty gritty details that are disturbing.”
Parents should then communicate to their children an openness and willingness to talk, answering their questions and listening to their feelings, she said.
“Make it clear you understand their feelings. In other words, don’t blow them off or avoid their feelings. This can be hard when they’re (being) upset makes you more upset,” said Saltz, author of“The Anatomy of a Secret Life.” “But expressing their feelings will help them to cope. Then be reassuring about all of the security at work protecting us, and how rare an event this really is.”
How to reassure your child
Reassurance is one of the most important things parents can provide children during a time of tragedy, when they fear it could happen to them, said Dr. Glenn Saxe, chairman of the department of child and adolescent psychiatry at NYU’s Langone Medical Center, in a previous interview.
“The first kind of thought and feeling is, ‘Am I safe? Are people close to me safe? Will something happen? Will people I depend on protect me?’ ” said Saxe, who is also director of the NYU Child Study Center.
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“You want to be assuring to your child, you want to communicate that you’re … doing everything you can do to keep them safe,” Saxe said. “You also want to not give false assurances, too. And this is also depending on the age of the child. You have to be real about it as well.”
It helps, too, for parents to acknowledge their own fears about how to keep children safe, even amid unpredictable violence, said Gold, whose book “The Silenced Child: From Labels, Medications, and Quick-Fix Solutions to Listening, Growth and Lifelong Resilience” is due out next year. It might seem counterintuitive, but acknowledging uncertainty can help parents connect with their children, and lead to a stronger sense of safety and security.
“It is frightening, but as the people of Paris who took to the streets expressed, we will not be afraid,” Gold said. “When our children can sense that courage in us, they too will not be afraid. When we can manage our own anxieties, we are in a better position to listen to the responses of our children, which may differ according to their unique individual qualities.”
Dr. Joe Taravella, supervisor of pediatric psychology at NYU Langone Medical Center’s Rusk Rehabilitation, said parents should not be afraid to show their own emotions about tragic events. Children pick up on the “emotional temperature that’s in the home,” even if we think we’re hiding how we truly feel, he said.
“We are our children’s role models, so we should be leading by example at all times and when we’re sad,” said Taravella. “We talk about our sadness so we can talk about us being fearful and sad that this happened, but then, I always try and end on the positive to help them cope or deal with it, that we are a family and that we support each other as a family.”
Parents should also be mindful of any changes in their children’s behavior after learning about a tragedy, Taravella said.
“I would try and put their behaviors into words like saying, ‘I see that you’ve been more cranky lately or more upset, I’m wondering if something’s going on, if you feel upset about something,’ ” he said, which might help them communicate what they are feeling.
Helping teens open up
For teens, who will most likely have heard about the attacks through social media or news coverage, it is best to start by asking what they know, Ferrara said.
“Initially, it is possible they may not have much to say,” she said, but they might revisit the topic when something connects to them personally.
“Events like this sometimes defy language, and a teen may struggle to discuss. However, remain open for these emerging adults. They need to know that they matter and that the world’s complexity is in dire need of their taking the time to think about and understand what it means to be global citizens,” she said.
“It is a shared responsibility that none of us, parent or young adult child, is able to avoid.”
What do you think is the best way to talk to children about tragic events? Share your thoughts withKelly Wallace on Twitter @kellywallacetv or CNN Parents on Facebook.
