Dear readers,
Once again, this newsletter is arriving in your inbox early. This time it’s because I wanted to send you a story on how to talk to your children about the STEM School shooting in Highlands Ranch. One student was killed and eight others were injured in the shooting, which occurred Tuesday afternoon.
School violence is a topic that parents are having to tackle (again) just weeks after hundreds of schools closed across the Front Range following security concerns.
How to talk to children about a school shooting
After a shooting or a threat, parents should listen and talk to their children about what happened. But they should keep the conversations age-appropriate and reassure children that they are safe, mental health experts said.
I spoke with Dr. Jennifer Hagman, a child psychiatrist with the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado, to find out how the school closures a few weeks ago affect the discussions parents should be having following the shooting.
She said the school closures over what the FBI said where credible threats makes it “even more important to validate that it is scary.”
“And that it’s disconcerting for parents, too,” she said. “It is frightening to have something close together.”
Read more about how to talk to kids about the shooting.
If you have a story tip or other feedback, email me at jseaman@denverpost.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at @JessicaSeaman. And don’t forget to become a subscriber to The Post!
See you later this week — Jessica
