When Tragedy Happens: Talking to your children
Welcome back to Consider Yourself Hugged! Click here to listen to Episode 128. OR click YouTube below to watch! (***Disclaimer: I provide these notes as a skeleton for the show - nothing fancy ๐)
On Monday, March 27th, three children & three adults were shot and killed at the Covenant School here in Nashville. How do you talk about a tragedy like this with a child? How do you support and reassure them? And how do you care for yourself during this difficult time?
Today, Michelle and I want to take a few minutes to process this with you and equip you to provide support for the young people in your world while caring for yourself too.
Who We Lost (what we know about them at this point)
Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9 - third grader
Mike Hill, 61 - school custodian
William Kinney, 9 - student
Katherine Koonce, 60 - head of Covenant School
Cynthia Peak, 61 - substitute teacher
Hallie Scruggs, 9 - daughter of the senior pastor at the Covenant Presbyterian Church
Highlights:
Find a support system to help you create a safe space.
Above all, children need to feel safe.
Limit media exposure.
Different children need different approaches.
Take care of yourself
Links:
From ABC News: Nashville school shooting: What to know about the 6 victims
From CDC: Helping Children Cope with Emergencies
From SAMHSA: Tips for Talking to Children and Youth After Traumatic Events - A Guide for Parents & Educators
From CDC: Taking Care of Your Emotional Health
Thanks for joining today! As Iโve always asked in the past, please pass the show link along to your friends and subscribe, download, and review wherever you are listening. If youโre a woman and you havenโt joined our private FB group A Place for Women, please do that now! Itโll be your source of encouragement. You can also follow my public page, Tami West Seminars.
And until next time, Consider Yourself Hugged ๐๐ค