Talking to your kids about school shootings

(WNDU) - Your kids might be coming to you with questions in the wake of the mass shooting at an elementary school on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas.

Child Psychologist Dr. Erin Leonard says fourth grade students may have the toughest time wrapping their heads around what happened because some of the victims are around the same age.

“And it’s just very, very important to empathize with whatever feeling they offer,” Leonard says. “So, they may be angry, they may be terrified, they may be worried, they may be scared, and you want to honor those feelings. ‘You have every right to be angry, honey, it’s not fair.’ Or, you know, ‘it’s very understandable that you’re worried.”

Even in the last days of school in Michiana, Dr. Leonard says it’s best to give your kids a heads up about what happened in Texas if you feel they may hear something insensitive about the tragedy from classmates.

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