Guidelines to help your children cope with tragedies such as school shootings

• Keep their exposure to these events on television, the radio, and on their computers to a minimum. Understand that the news media will play this coverage over and over as "breaking news", and as such it may automatically pop up on any web browser.
• Know that younger children may believe that this is continuing to happen or is happening in multiple schools.
• When dealing with young children, be careful to answer the questions they are asking appropriately, rather than giving them information that they are not really asking for. Too much detail may frighten children who know very little about this incident.
• Reassure them that this was a tragic situation that was unexpected and an isolated event.
• Remind them of the important reasons we practice fire drills and other emergency drills. We are making sure that we all know exactly what to do if something happens that is unexpected.
• Praise your children for always taking practice drills seriously and tell them that as parents you too know what good care the teachers and administrators will take in keeping them safe while at school.
• Be mindful of what you say and what your children may overhear you talking about.