CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A mental health counselor says it’s important to talk to children about the mass shooting that happened Tuesday at a Texas elementary school.
What You Need To Know
Laurie Ford is a licensed mental health counselor in Charlotte
She says parents should ask their kids what they know about the shooting and how they feel
Reassure them they are safe, but events happen that are out of their control
Laterria Lassiter always talks with her 12-year-old son when she picks him up from school. Most of the time she asks how school was and what happened. But Wednesday she had a more intense conversation.
“I did a mental health check and asked how he was feeling,” Lassiter said.
It was one day since the mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas. She wants her son to be open about his emotions and share them.
She is trying to help her son understand what can cause a person to act violently. Lassiter has school-aged children, and she wanted to make sure she talked to them properly about the tragedy.
The night of the shooting, she called her mental health counselor, Laurie Ford, for advice.
“We talk to them about eating healthy and working out, but we don’t always talk to them about their emotions and managing their emotions,” Ford said.
Ford says it’s important to ask children reflective questions.
“The basic question, 'how was your day at school?'” Ford said. “They may say, 'my day was good.' What does that mean? What was good about your day?”
Events like these can also be challenging for mothers and fathers. Lassiter said her 3-year-old daughter said a prayer Wednesday morning that they all stay safe. It made her emotional.
“If something happens at school, I can’t be there,” Lassiter said. “I can’t even get in there.”
And that’s why Ford says to also take care of your own mental health.
Lassiter says one of their ways of coping mentally is with prayer. She accepts the fact that she can’t stop all of the violence in the world, but she can spiritually and mentally prepare her children.
The National Association of School Psychologists has some additional tips for parents. View them on their website.