SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — As news of school shootings spreads quickly through classmates, social media and around-the-clock coverage, a PeaceHealth child psychologist says parents should not wait for children to bring up what they have seen or heard.Arissa Walberg, a child psychologist with PeaceHealth, said children are likely to learn about school shootings from other sources, including media coverage, even if they were not directly involved. She advises parents to check in early and start by listening.“Recognize that they’re likely going to be hearing about it from other sources and we don’t want to wait for them to bring it up, right? So we wanna check in with them and we want to start by asking and listening,” Walberg said. “So we want to ask questions like, what have you heard? What do you think happened? And, you know, what are you feeling about all of that? And then giving them space to respond to all of those things without interrupting them. And then we wanna really validate whatever it is they’re feeling.”Walberg said parents should avoid going into graphic detail, which can heighten anxiety, and instead focus on reassurance and safety.KMTR – PeaceHealth psychologist urges parents to talk early with kids about school shooting news“We’re not going to go overboard in describing all of the details about what happened because that can be further anxiety provoking,” she said. “And then focusing again more on the reassurance. So kind of talking about all of the things that are done every day to help keep them safe, whether that’s at school or at home or anywhere that actually schools are really safe environments.”PeaceHealth also advises parents and caregivers to continue watching for changes in a child’s behavior after those conversations. The health system says signs can include increased clinginess, increased nervousness about being away from a primary caregiver, an expressed desire to not attend school, increased emotions such as anger, sadness or tearfulness, or changes in appetite.
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