Many kids were sleeping at 10 pm when the news of the unfathomable Las Vegas shooting first came out. The news was there waiting for them when they woke up and looked at their phones or saw the morning shows on TV, or some other screen. How do we handle helping our kids with scary and tragic news?
All of us here at “Screenagers” have teens and tweens. Lisa, co-producer of Screenagers, has a daughter who became aware of Sunday night’s shooting when she saw the morning news program Lisa was watching. “I did think ‘Should I turn this off before my daughter comes in,’ ” Lisa told me. But she said her daughter, who is a 14-year-old freshman in high school, is interested in what is going on in the world. “She was quite annoyed with me for not telling her about what is going on with North Korea. I am glad she is interested in global affairs, but want to make sure she has tools to work with when emotions around these hard subjects surface.”
Harold S. Koplewicz, MD is a psychiatrist and runs the Child Mind Institute. His advice for relating upsetting news stories is that it is better to hear the information from you rather than the feeds on your kids’ phones or from other kids whenever possible. Koplewicz writes the following in an article titled Helping Children Cope With Frightening News :
“Take your cues from your child... Give her ample opportunity to ask questions. You want to be prepared to answer (but not prompt) questions about upsetting details. Your goal is to avoid encouraging frightening fantasies.”
I would add that sometimes our kids aren’t sure what questions they have or what emotions they are feeling. That is normal and telling them that is essential. It can be helpful to say how you are feeling and the questions that are rumbling around in your head such as: "How is that people are capable of such extreme goodness, and yet at times such unbelievable cruelty?" These types of questions can be unanswerable, but it is so important to discuss.
For this TTT, let's talk about difficult news. Here are some questions you may find useful.
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
As we’re about to celebrate 10 years of Screenagers, we want to hear what’s been most helpful and what you’d like to see next.
Please click here to share your thoughts with us in our community survey. It only takes 5–10 minutes, and everyone who completes it will be entered to win one of five $50 Amazon vouchers.
Many kids were sleeping at 10 pm when the news of the unfathomable Las Vegas shooting first came out. The news was there waiting for them when they woke up and looked at their phones or saw the morning shows on TV, or some other screen. How do we handle helping our kids with scary and tragic news?
All of us here at “Screenagers” have teens and tweens. Lisa, co-producer of Screenagers, has a daughter who became aware of Sunday night’s shooting when she saw the morning news program Lisa was watching. “I did think ‘Should I turn this off before my daughter comes in,’ ” Lisa told me. But she said her daughter, who is a 14-year-old freshman in high school, is interested in what is going on in the world. “She was quite annoyed with me for not telling her about what is going on with North Korea. I am glad she is interested in global affairs, but want to make sure she has tools to work with when emotions around these hard subjects surface.”
Harold S. Koplewicz, MD is a psychiatrist and runs the Child Mind Institute. His advice for relating upsetting news stories is that it is better to hear the information from you rather than the feeds on your kids’ phones or from other kids whenever possible. Koplewicz writes the following in an article titled Helping Children Cope With Frightening News :
“Take your cues from your child... Give her ample opportunity to ask questions. You want to be prepared to answer (but not prompt) questions about upsetting details. Your goal is to avoid encouraging frightening fantasies.”
I would add that sometimes our kids aren’t sure what questions they have or what emotions they are feeling. That is normal and telling them that is essential. It can be helpful to say how you are feeling and the questions that are rumbling around in your head such as: "How is that people are capable of such extreme goodness, and yet at times such unbelievable cruelty?" These types of questions can be unanswerable, but it is so important to discuss.
For this TTT, let's talk about difficult news. Here are some questions you may find useful.
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
Sign up here to receive the weekly Tech Talk Tuesdays newsletter from Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD.
We respect your privacy.
Many kids were sleeping at 10 pm when the news of the unfathomable Las Vegas shooting first came out. The news was there waiting for them when they woke up and looked at their phones or saw the morning shows on TV, or some other screen. How do we handle helping our kids with scary and tragic news?
All of us here at “Screenagers” have teens and tweens. Lisa, co-producer of Screenagers, has a daughter who became aware of Sunday night’s shooting when she saw the morning news program Lisa was watching. “I did think ‘Should I turn this off before my daughter comes in,’ ” Lisa told me. But she said her daughter, who is a 14-year-old freshman in high school, is interested in what is going on in the world. “She was quite annoyed with me for not telling her about what is going on with North Korea. I am glad she is interested in global affairs, but want to make sure she has tools to work with when emotions around these hard subjects surface.”
Harold S. Koplewicz, MD is a psychiatrist and runs the Child Mind Institute. His advice for relating upsetting news stories is that it is better to hear the information from you rather than the feeds on your kids’ phones or from other kids whenever possible. Koplewicz writes the following in an article titled Helping Children Cope With Frightening News :
“Take your cues from your child... Give her ample opportunity to ask questions. You want to be prepared to answer (but not prompt) questions about upsetting details. Your goal is to avoid encouraging frightening fantasies.”
I would add that sometimes our kids aren’t sure what questions they have or what emotions they are feeling. That is normal and telling them that is essential. It can be helpful to say how you are feeling and the questions that are rumbling around in your head such as: "How is that people are capable of such extreme goodness, and yet at times such unbelievable cruelty?" These types of questions can be unanswerable, but it is so important to discuss.
For this TTT, let's talk about difficult news. Here are some questions you may find useful.
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
Many young people and adults love horror films and talk about how they love the feeling of being scared. This is so very different from me. I am not at all a fan. This week I have been thinking about ways to talk with kids about when horror in movies, TV shows, and online, in general, go too far.
READ MORE >
The Screenagers’ Tech Talk Tuesday blog from two weeks ago provided four questions for teens to answer regarding the HBO show Euphoria. As intended, the questions sparked conversations among adults and teens, and we got many thoughtful answers from teens in the questionnaire.
READ MORE >
I find HBO’s Euphoria incredibly disturbing and know that although so many of our kids have watched it, many parents never have. Today, I offer a way into a conversation with youth about the show’s topics and popularity.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
