A shooting at a Minnesota Catholic school dominated national news this week after two children were killed.
Mental health experts say school-based gun violence in the news can add to students’ and parents’ stress levels as school starts.
“Historically, we've had parents be very anxious about safety protocols in school,” Brooke Bifano, a coordinator for the Scranton Counseling Center’s community and school-based behavioral health program, said. “So I definitely think when stuff like this happens, the kids notice.”
The Scranton Counseling Center recently dealt with a student safety issue. The Susquehanna Community School went on lockdown during the Counseling Center’s therapeutic summer program when two state troopers were shot nearby.
“They very recently went through this situation with their kids in real time. And it actually ran very smoothly, thankfully, because they do so many drills and because we're all of our staff are taking part in the training that the teachers go through and the emergency response protocols and making sure that they're up to date on what they should be doing. And they were able to keep their kids calm,” she said.
What happened in Minneapolis?
A gunman opened fire on a Minneapolis church on Wednesday morning, killing two children and wounding 17 more people. The 23-year-old shooter has been identified as Robin Westman. Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after firing through the windows of the Annunciation Church.
The shooting occurred around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning near the start of a Mass marking the first week of classes at Annunciation Catholic School.
Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed by the gunfire where they sat in the pews.
Age-appropriate conversations about gun violence
Bifano said there’s a line between preparing children and scaring them.
“It's a super fine line, and it really depends on what age group they're in,” said Bifano. “So a conversation with our elementary age kids looks very different than a conversation with our high school-aged kids.”
Often, violent details can be left out.
“We try to make sure that our therapists are very direct with the kids, answering questions that they have and reassuring them that it's okay to have the questions, but maybe not focusing so much on the details of the recent shooting that occurred, or what could happen in general, to try not to give them too much information and overwhelm them,” Bifano said.
Steven Craig, the director of counseling and student development at Marywood University, said safety is the most important part of the conversation.
“Parents can't control the news necessarily, or what's happening in the outside world, so much, but maintaining the safety of one's home. Talking with children about how one's home is safe, I think, can be really important as well,” said Craig.
To Dr. Brenna Lash, a postdoctoral fellow in pediatric psychology at Geisinger, there’s a time and place for the difficult conversations.
“I always encourage parents to find opportunities to have those conversations in cases where the kids engaged with something,” she said. “If your kiddo’s coloring and really focused on the activity, that can kind of be a time to talk about hard things because they're a little bit distracted. It could sometimes feel easier for them to open up about their feelings while they're doing something else. For teens, one of my favorite recommendations is having the car conversation, because you're focused on driving and not looking at them, and the teen is looking out the window. There's something about being stuck in a car together, not looking at each other, that really allows conversation to flow, especially really difficult conversations, and to kind of go with the child's pace.”
“Allow them to talk when they're ready, not forcing them to talk before they're ready, but being available,” she continued.
Regulate emotions as a parent to minimize children’s fear
Laura Jacoby, the vice-president of programs at Children’s Service Center, is also a licensed therapist and a mother.
Jacoby said regular active shooter drills at school were making her son scared to go to school. She managed her reaction to make sure her son understood the risks of active shooters without it making him feel negatively towards going to school.
“As parents, we need to manage our emotions about the incident, monitor ourselves so that we aren't creating more emotions in the child than what's already there. We need to be honest with them to what's appropriate for their developmental level, so we're not going to go into great detail with a kindergartener or a preschooler about all the details of the situation, but maybe making it more general in terms of there are people who, unfortunately, hurt other people,” Jacoby said.
And, Craig said, sometimes parents should process their own feelings about tragic events in the news before talking about it with their children.
“Part of caring for our children is also just making sure that we're taking care of ourselves,” Craig said.
As a licensed psychologist himself, he often suggests that patients turn off the news.
“It can be helpful for people to monitor their consumption of coverage of these kinds of tragedies in the news,” Craig said. “It's important to stay informed, but also, I think it's important to know one's limits of when maybe taking a break from consuming this type of coverage.”
Lash said it’s important for parents to practice self-care if they are feeling overwhelmed by news of gun violence.
“I may recommend things, for example, relaxation or grounding exercises, mindfulness techniques, any kind of self-care, kind of coping skills that they can place in their own toolboxes, especially even better if families and parents can share these strategies with their children too,” Lash said.
The Diocese offers prayers, support for Minneapolis
The Diocese of Scranton released a statement regarding the shooting.
“I was heartbroken and horrified to hear about the tragic shooting that took place Wednesday morning during Mass at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis,” said the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, the Bishop of Scranton in a statement. “I ask all people of faith to pray for those who are suffering and for the healing of this deeply wounded community. The fact that such a violent act could happen in the middle of Mass is almost unimaginable. It is so profoundly distressing to know that such violence could erupt in a place meant for prayer and peace. As we pray for the victims, their families, the parish community, the first responders, and everyone now carrying the weight of sorrow and fear – we ask our Blessed Mother Mary – whose Annunciation gave hope to the world – to intercede for all of those whose lives have been impacted by this horrible tragedy.”
