Nashville School Shooting Reminds Adults To Have Extra Support For School-Age Children

A school shooting event in Nashville Monday may have many kids hearing news coverage, leaving them distressed or overwhelmed.

Sheila Barker is the Putnam County School Systme’s Social Emotional Wellness Coordinator. She said in times like these, it is important for parents to simply listen to their children.

“We get bombarded with that and I think kids just really need time to process that and adults need time to process that,” Barker said. “But I think the biggest thing is just being able to support and listen and really validate how they’re feeling.”

Barker said she also recommends focusing more so on the feelings of the child, rather than the negative event itself. She said ways to facilitate that include limiting watching the news and creating a space to have open discussions with kids.

Barker said elementary schools will be having ongoing guidance sessions throughout the week to help students process. She said the middle school and high school grades will not have ongoing sessions but have counselors on-hand to meet their needs.

“Sometimes certain events will trigger other vents that may have occurred in kids’ lives, not necessarily related to a school shooting but just that trauma,” Barker said.”Just be mindful of how your kid is doing. If you notice a difference with your child, if they’re more withdrawn or if they’re focusing a lot on the situation. If it’s concerning, you can always go to a school counselor and ask if they need to reach out and get more help for their child.”

Barker said parents are always able to reach out to the school is htey need help to gauge that.