Difficult Conversations with Your Child

Here are some tips on how to provide children with a safe space to process and understand difficult events in the news.

Make time to talk to your child
- Validate, acknowledge, and normalize your child’s feelings.
- Provide a safe, private environment for them to express their feelings appropriately.
- Watch for changes in behavior, eating habits, sleeping patterns, mood swings and separation anxiety.
- Teach and model tools to calm their anxiety and worry.
  - Breathing exercises, mindfulness, positive affirmations, writing, music, art and play can help children identify and process strong emotions
- Assist the child in reframing their focus to find the helpers.
- Seek the help of a mental health professional if symptoms persist, impact their functioning, or you have concerns about the intensity of their emotions.
Reassure your child they are safe
- Remind your child their school is a safe place with adults and protocols to maintain safety.
- Help children identify at least one adult at school that they feel comfortable reaching out to if they are feeling unsafe, this could be a teacher or school counselor.
- Maintain a regular routine and schedule as consistency can be reassuring to your child.
Be patient with your child
- Give your child time to process emotions and be aware your child may not be ready to talk about their feelings right away.
- Maintain an ongoing conversation with your child and check-in as needed.
- Limit their time on social media and/or television viewing of these events.
- Be mindful of the content of conversations that you have with each other in front of children, even teenagers.
- Make sure explanations are developmentally appropriate.
- Allow your child to ask questions.