Go Ask Mom

How to talk to kids about school shootings: Join Go Ask Mom, Junior League of Raleigh for special discussion

To help parents filter through the news and figure out the best way to talk to our kids about school shootings, Go Ask Mom will join the Junior League of Raleigh to host a special discussion about how to talk to our kids about school shootings on May 10.

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By
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
, Go Ask Mom editor

It's almost impossible to avoid news about school shootings - whether it's following up on pleas for change from school shooting victims or news about the latest incident that's left another child dead or injured.

So the troubling results of a new study likely will come as no surprise to parents following the headlines. According to the report, published last week in the Journal of Child and Family Studies, researchers found an alarming trend: There have been more school shooting deaths in the last 18 years than there were from 1940 to 2000. And, among the school shooting deaths and injuries in the 20th century, the overwhelming majority of them occurred in the 1990s.

Another worrisome trend: Nearly all of the 21st century shooters were adolescents, "suggesting that it is now easier for adolescents to access guns and adolescents are more frequently suffering from mental illness or limited conflict resolution skills," says the report, whose lead author is Antonis Katsiyannis of Clemson University.

To help parents filter through the news and figure out the best way to talk to our kids about school shootings, Go Ask Mom will join the Junior League of Raleigh to host a special discussion about how to talk to our kids about school shootings. The program, scheduled for May 10, is free and open to the public, but registration is required to ensure there is enough room for all participants.

"After the heartbreaking Parkland shooting, so many of us were left asking what we could do to help," said Marisa Bryant, president of the Junior League of Raleigh. "Aside from the volunteer hours Junior League members put into the community each year, we also like to think of our headquarters, the Julia Jones Daniels Center for Community Leadership, as a place where people can get together to do good work for the community and tackle tough issues. Many of our members are parents, grandparents, teachers or spend their volunteer time working with kids. We hope that this event is helpful for all of us grappling with how to have the hard conversations that follow such a terrible tragedy."

During the talk, we'll hear tips and suggestions from Dr. Stephanie Zerwas of UNC-Chapel Hill's Department of Psychiatry on how to talk to kids about school shootings. Her talk will be followed by time for questions from the audience.
It takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., May 10, at the Julia Jones Daniels Center for Community Leadership, 711 Hillsborough St., near downtown Raleigh. You can register for the program on the Junior League's website.

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