12/14/2012 Unfortunate update: It’s time to talk about this again. My heart is broken, as is yours. Feel free to connect with me here or on Twitter to ask about how you can approach this in your family.

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The Colorado shooting has come and gone — and now the Connecticut school shootings, and we’re left trying to explain things to The Littles. One well-meaning mom criticized me on Twitter for even suggesting we talk to young children about violence. “Why even bring it up?” she wondered.

Her life is much more insular than many of ours — I have a 2 year old. But I also have a 6 year old. And a 9 year old. And an 11 year old. And those kids have completely different levels of awareness and understanding of these situations — and they talk. In front of The Littles. So parents like us need talking points for those tricky situations.

So here are my thoughts about how to navigate these unavoidable conversations. Let’s be ready, because unfortunately, it won’t be the last time.

I was also quoted in Newsweek/The Daily Beast about the issue. I hope I made the point that parents taking their young children to movie theaters aren’t the problem. Untreated mental illness and widespread availability of guns ARE.
Aloha,

Dr. Heather
The BabyShrink
Mom of Four, Parenting Expert