Talking to Children about Mass Tragedies

On Sunday, a building fire in New York City left 19 people dead including 9 children, and many others still fighting for their lives. This tragedy has been broadcast all over the news on the east coast and beyond. Families have been displaced and many children will not have their friends to walk to school and play with ever again. For these families, the trauma and grief they have experienced will likely require professional assistance for a long time. And for families more removed from the direct impacts of this fire, they may still find that they, or their children, are surprisingly impacted by the visuals they witnessed on TV.

All of the current research shows that addressing this trauma and loss is in the best interest of children and teens. Pretending that it didn't happen only serves to communicate that children can't rely on adults to talk to them about important events, and they they are not accessible to talk about the big feelings that come with experiencing such a devastating event. Most adults want children to come to them if they are scared, anxious or confused, but if we don't model that it's OK to talk about big things, the opposite message is often understood.

If you are going to address this loss with children, there are strong, evidence-based guidelines about how to do it. Download these guidelines to help you through it, or reach out to me for more specific support. If your school or agency has been affected by a mass loss, I am available to provide crisis postvention for students and staff. Please reach for more information.