What Do I Tell Children About Las Vegas Shooting? Burlington Educator Offers Advice

BURLINGTON, MA — Patrick Larkin, the assistant superintendent for Burlington Public Schools, didn't waste any time in offering parents advice on how to talk to their children about last night's shooting in Las Vegas, which stands as the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. On Monday morning, as many were hearing about the shooting on their way to work and school, Larkin was offering advice on "My Learning Journey," a blog he uses to communicate with parents and students.

"I know that the conversation between adults on this matter might be a little different. My main goal is to not raise my daughter’s level of concern when it comes to these types of events," Larkin wrote. "I want her to know she is safe and that she has [nothing] to worry about. I am not sure I handled it perfectly, but I don’t think to turn off the radio would have been the right thing to do."

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In his blog post, Larkin said he learned about the shooting while listening to the news as he drove his 11-year-old daughter to school. "A few years ago, I would have quickly turned the radio off and changed the subject. But my daughter is in middle school now and she and a lot of her friends like country music and there is a good chance she will hear something about this news somewhere in her travels today," he said.

Larkin also encouraged parents to read an article he found in Psychology Today that tries to answer many of the questions parents are asking themselves today:

"Many experts recommend no news viewing until age 11 or so, and after that age, minimized viewing together with adults who reassure them and help them process information from a calm, accurate, adult perspective.Reassure them that shootings and attacks are very unlikely to happen to them, their friends, or family; Ask if they have any questions (it’s okay not to have all the answers) and say you’d like to talk again whenever they want. Say it’s good to talk about concerns."

Photo by Star Max/Associated Press.
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