Should you talk to your child about mass shootings and bomb threats? Absolutely. Here’s why.

It has been a tragic and stressful week in our country. First there was an attempted bombing spree leaving many people in danger and the authorities in confusion. Then a few weekends ago was the tragic shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people – and now the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California.

Whether it’s a mass shooting, a bombing or a series of bomb threats, no doubt your children are affected. They are hearing about it on the news. They are reading about it on social media. Even if you’re keeping your child away from the T.V., he knows what’s happening. Because of this, I feel it’s important that we help our kids process hard information.

Often after such tragedies and newsworthy events, we adults focus on praying for the victims or talk about what the next move for the government should be, forgetting that little eyes are watching and ears are hearing. As disturbing as recent news has been for us, it can be worse for our children. So we can’t let them get lost in the shuffle.

To that end, I want to encourage parents to reach out to your kids and help them through this difficult time. Here are a few tips for how to talk to your child after a tragedy:

Initiate conversation.

Don’t wait until they come to you. As I said, kids are seeing images and updates on social media,  and their friends are talking, so they are already thinking about the shooting and recent events. Initiating discussion won’t put ideas or fears in their minds; talking them through will help alleviate their fears.

Use simple language.

When telling them about the tragedies, you can say that someone who is very disturbed used a weapon on innocent people. Don’t tell gory details but say that people were hurt and some are in the hospital.