June 16, 2016
Why You Should Be Talking To Your Children About Orlando
The devastating shooting massacre in Orlando on Sunday has rocked our country and the world. It’s been impossible to not be affected by it. The conversations that have erupted, the deep pain and sorrow at having our LGBT family, friends, and loved ones so heinously targeted. It feels like it can’t possibly be real. This can’t possibly be the world we live in. In 2016! But it is. And it is launching battles, and discussions, and questions, and fears that are valid, important, deserve to be discussed, and absolutely without question, need to be addressed.
We’re used to these conversations with people our own age, but what about our children? What happens when our little ones seek to understand what terrorism or gun violence means? What happens when they become more cognizant of the realities of gun violence, and are suddenly afraid to be in public, to go to school, to be anywhere apart from us, their parents?
It’s deeply sad. But these are the types of conversations that we as modern-day parents need to have with our children. We can’t hide from it. It’s not going anywhere. And to make them feel as safe as they possibly can, it’s our responsibility to educate them wholly and give them the safest possible space to express everything that’s rolling around their growing minds. To encourage them to live with love, and compassion, and to remind them that even though it very much feels like it sometimes, the world is not actually a horrible place.
We know how difficult it is to broach these types of subjects with your little ones, so we’ve compiled a few resources to help get the conversation started. And we’d love for you to share your own experiences, as well as tips for parents gearing up to the do the same.
Love love love.
How to talk to your children about the Orlando shooting.
Why you need to talk to your kids about Orlando.
Some helpful tips from Psychology Benefits (that also applies to situations beyond Orlando).
How to empower our children in the face of armed school violence.
Have a gun in the house? Let’s talk about gun safety.
