October 11, 2023
It is with great sorrow that we share this statement, today.
Another shooting. Another hate crime.
Our hearts go out to the survivors and the families and friends of those who are tragically lost.
We have surpassed 600 mass shootings this year. And sadly marginalized groups, including those who identify as LGBTQ are often the targets.
The crisis in Ukraine feels to many like the straw that broke the camel’s back. Between the COVID pandemic, systemic racism, the climate crisis, and now the war in Ukraine, the world may feel increasingly unsafe. Very young children, though, actually respond more to their adults’ distress than to the tragic events themselves.
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As noted in Trauma: What Parents Should Know, trauma is a physical and emotional reaction to a real or perceived threat to safety and security.
After September 11, 2001, lots of little kids across the nation asked some variation of the same question:
“Mommy, why did the bad guys attack us?”
Kids tend to look for patterns, especially when they’re frightened, so some kids likely took this inquiry even a step further:
“Daddy, why do the bad guys hate us?”
Our hearts go out to the families of those who lost their lives and were injured in the recent terrorist act in Orlando—an event that is being called the most extensive mass shooting in this country’s history.
At times like these – in the face of terrorism or war – amid our shock, grief, and fear, we need to be particularly attuned to the impact such events have on our children. Kids of all ages have questions and various emotional reactions—compounded all the more by the footage and commentary they may be seeing and experiencing.
Authors’ Note: As we as a nation remember the tragic events that took place at the 2013 Boston Marathon, we wish to share again the blog below, written in collaboration with the Marjorie E. Korff Parenting At a Challenging Time (PACT) Program for the Boston Marathon bombing’s one-year anniversary.
In these weeks leading up to the 2014 Boston Marathon, we are collectively hearing about a range of reactions to the many reminders of the event’s significance. Some are feeling distressed, perhaps from listening to the widespread media coverage discussed in our previous post.