Tips for Talking to Kids about Violence

Children are naturally curious and may have questions about the violence they see on TV and hear about in the news. Research shows that kids want to talk with parents and caring adults about tough issues - including violence - and that those who have early conversations are more likely to continue to turn to adults as they grow older. But, it can be difficult to talk about violence with kids, so we have compiled a list of resources for parents and youth workers:

• Talking With Kids About Tough Issues has a flier with 3 tips to help children make sense of violence [pdf]
• The National Association of School Psychologists has a number of resources, including key talking points for teachers and parents after school violence [ppt] and advice for caregivers who are working with traumatized kids [pdf]
• The Dougy Center provides resources for grieving children and families
• The Safe Start Center has a number of tip sheets for helping children exposed to violence
• The American School Counselor Assocation shares resources for helping kids during crisis
• SAMHSA has tips for parents, caregivers and teachers has tips for talking with kids and coping with grief
• SAMHSA's disaster distress helpline provides crisis counseling 

Do you know of any good resources for talking to kids about violence? Please share them in the comments below.

Liz Wu is a Digital Accounts Manager at Prichard Communications, where she oversees digital outreach for Reclaiming Futures and edits Reclaiming Futures Every Day. Before joining the Prichard team, Liz established the West Coast communications presence for the New America Foundation, where she managed all media relations, event planning and social media outreach for their 6 domestic policy programs. Liz received a B.A. in both Peace and Conflict Studies and German from the University of California at Berkeley. She tweets from @LizSF.
 
 
 
*Photo at top by Flickr user Indiana Public Media