This weekend I talked with my daughter about what happened in Connecticut on Friday, and frankly it wasn’t as good a conversation as I would have liked (Facetime is no substitute for being able to reach out and hug your kid in times like these, so that was the #1 issue with our talk). It makes me think about how easily I can talk to patients about traumatic events, and yet how difficult it is for me to talk about similar issues with my own kid. Is it that I weigh every single word, making it feel like a more stilted conversation? I’m guessing some of you have some terrific insight into this phenomenon. In any event, my struggle as a parent makes me grateful for the resources that exist right now in helping children cope after trauma. It’s what I’ve been reading since last we spoke, and I’m guessing maybe you’ve been reading some of it, too. Feel free to add the resources you like in the Comments.
TLC Provides Tips for Coping with Trauma (Media Insights)
Helping Students Navigate a Violent World (Teaching Tolerance)
Helping Young Children Cope with Trauma (The Red Cross)
What Do We Tell Our Children? (PBS)
What Parents Can Do: Coping with Trauma After Violence and Disasters (National Institutes of Mental Health)
Parenting after Traumatic Events: Ways to Support Children (Psych Central)
Reacting to the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting (American Psychological Association)