How to talk to Children about Bad Things

Keeping all bad news and tragedy from children is impossible, so what should adults say when something terrible happens

Despite the feeling of holiday cheer this time of yea recent tragic events continue to linger on the minds of many of us.  Sadly, we live in a world where we are often unable to shield young children from the tragic events like the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernadino. Even when we don’t deliberately expose our children to these kinds of events, they are likely to hear other adults or children discuss them. So how do parents with young children or teachers explain these horrible events? Jeanette Schied is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Michigan State University. She joins Stephen Henderson on Detroit Today for some suggestions and insight.

 

Click on the audio player above to hear the entire interview

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