Parents around the country are wondering how to help their children deal with the recent school shootings in Florida, which left 17 people, mostly students, dead. Young children especially may have trouble processing the tragedy.
Dr. Stephen Lassen is a pediatric psychologist at The University of Kansas Health System. In the video, he tells parents what they can do to help their children cope with the news. He says it’s dangerous for parents to think that just because this happened in another part of the country it doesn’t affect their child in some way. Lassen says this presents an opportunity for the whole family to sit down and have a conversation. He explains sometimes it’s as simple as asking what questions they have rather than volunteering too much information. He describes some of the potential risk factors that could possibly lead someone to commit this crime. He also explains how to help those children who were directly involved in the shooting.
