🌟Weekly Inspiration🌟

In the wake of more community distress around school safety and threats of gun violence, I have the following thoughts to ground and guide you in this moment as you talk with your children.

• This is a community issue that is taken seriously by our school districts, law enforcement, and mental health community. Reassure your children of this.

• Slow down and make time for your kids to discuss, ask questions, and get support.

• Validate their feelings. Apologize that they are growing up in a world that feels scary in this way. Reiterate how much you love them.

• Tell them the truth in an age-appropriate way. Do not minimize their concerns or pretend it didn’t happen. Correct misinformation.

• Maintain a normal routine. Extra TLC. Limit social media and news.

• Observe your child’s emotional state, if they need help, get it for them from school or the mental health community.

• For older kids, Welcome philosophical conversations regarding individual freedoms and collective safety.

• Think about your spirituality and whether comfort could be found in a church community.

• Consider the statement: Hurt people hurt people. If they know someone who is truly troubled or someone who has access to a gun, encourage them to tell an adult. If you have a troubled kid, please get them help.

There is a growing sense of powerlessness, but I want to challenge that. We are exhausted by this topic, and we are scared and frozen at times, but as families, we need to do more than lip service when there is a crisis. Identify an organization that can support gun violence prevention, mental health access, or improved gun safety laws. Write to your congresspeople, put your money where your mouth is, and support organizations working hard towards change. Anxiety reduces as we take action so start to engage and work towards progress. Let’s all be part of the solution so that our children and grandchildren don’t continue to have this worry.