The school year has just started in the US and, yet again, another school shooting has led to tragic loss of life, suffering, and fear. Our hearts are with each person who has died, been injured, lost a loved one, or had their sense of security destroyed.
This happened Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, As one of the students in the school said to a reporter, “I don’t want to go back to class. I shouldn’t have to be afraid of dying at school.”
And every time, when a mass shooting happens, we hear from terrified parents asking, “How can I protect MY child?”
In response to the tragic reality of horrific heartbreaking shootings, we are offering a special free workshop for parents, educators, and other caring adults next Thursday, September 12, called, School Shootings: How do we protect our kids?
We will learn and practice skills including:
- what to say and do to protect our children’s emotional safety
- how to make safety plans with our schools, and
- how to prepare children to take action if an emergency arises.
You can learn more about the following four actions you can take to protect children’s emotional safety in our article, still relevant after 12 years since the Sandy Hook tragedy it mentions: “What If Someone Starts Shooting Kids At My School?”
- Shield children as best you can from overwhelming and upsetting news
- Acknowledge children’s feelings without burdening them with your own
- Answer questions in reassuring, age-appropriate ways
- Give extra love and attention.
The following seven steps described in our article, School Shootings: How to Protect Kids in the Face of Armed School Violence can help adults and children to feel less helpless and more prepared:
- Is Your School Prepared – and Are You?
- Be a Safe, Calm Person to Talk To
- Make Sure it is Safe to Tell At School
- What Adults Can Say to Children About What Happens to People’s Minds and Bodies in an Emergency
- Violence in Schools and Elsewhere: What Adults Can Say To Children About Getting Away, Getting Hurt, and Getting Help
- What Adults Can Say to Children About Kids Having Weapons At School
- Work on the Underlying Issues
Acting out what to do for different kinds of emergencies can help to prepare children and adults alike to take quick action when needed. Just like fire drills, if a school safety drill for someone who is acting dangerously is done in a calm and matter-of-fact way, this can help to reduce anxiety.
We also want kids to be safe in their imaginations. Just talking about problems makes people more anxious without making them safer. In our Kidpower workshops, we coach our students to be successful in practicing how to handle different kinds of safety problems with people, depending on what issues these families, schools, and youth organizations are dealing with at that time.
I hope to see you in our workshop next week.
Published: September 5, 2024 | Last Updated: September 5, 2024
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Founder and Executive Director
Kidpower Founder and Executive Irene van der Zande is a master at teaching safety through stories and practices and at inspiring others to do the same. Her child protection and personal safety expertise has been featured by USA Today, CNN, Today Moms, the LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Publications include: cartoon-illustrated Kidpower Safety Comics and Kidpower Teaching Books curriculum; Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe; the Relationship Safety Skills Handbook for Teens and Adults; Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People, and the Amazon Best Seller Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.