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Tackling the Tough Stuff
series for parents.
The new May schedule of programs is here

Talking about tragedy

by posted 02/09/2012

Given the tragic events at the Boston Marathon, we wanted to share some resources that you might find helpful in guiding how you discuss this with your children. Although many parents (myself included!) wish we could shield our children from the bad and the sad, it's important that we serve as a source of information and support. And despite our best efforts to act as a buffer, children do hear things, and see things, and pick up on things and it's always better to acknowlege than ignore. And extra hugs never hurt.

The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care has assembled a great list of resources for helping children (and their parents) cope with traumatic events that you can view at http://www.mass.gov/edu/birth-grade-12/early-education-and-care/parent-and-family-support/health-and-safety/traumatic-community-events.html

Harold Kopelwicz, a psychiatrist and president of the Child Mind Institute, shares some helpful guidelines for discussing frightening news with children at http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2011-12-27-helping-your-child-cope-deaths-friends. And Child Mind has put together a guide for helping children cope with traumatic events at http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2013-4-16-helping-children-cope-after-traumatic-event

Richard Rende provides some helpful advice for monitoring media coverage of this tragedy at http://www.parents.com/blogs/red-hot-parenting/2013/04/15/health/boston-marathon-explosions-be-in-control-of-what-your-child-will-hear-and-see/?sssdmh=dm17.662711&esrc=nwpdbk041613

PBS Parents has some good strategies for talking and listening, as well as helpful information about how children process the news at http://www.pbs.org/parents/talkingwithkids/news/talking.html

Common Sense Media provides detailed guidelines on explaining the news to children at different ages and stages at http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/explaining-news-our-kids

We will be talking more about how to discuss tragedy as part of our Tackling the Tough Stuff series; in the meantime check out our website for additional resources and always feel free to contact me directly at if I can be of help.

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