'Moms Talk' Q & A: How Do You Talk to Children About the Chardon High Shooting?

Each week the council will answer a question on parenthood posed to them by readers or another member of council.

This week, the Moms Council talks about the topic on everyone's mind – the shooting at Chardon High School.

Here's what the Moms had to say:

Susan Jerome: I didn't talk to my children about Columbine because they were too young. Let them have an innocent childhood; it is taken away so quickly in our world, today.

We have been texting and talking about Chardon since it happened. We try and empathize with the parents of the victims, especially those who have lost a child to such a brutal act. We talked about what the parents might be experiencing, how they are feeling, and what we could do. We have been praying since the news began and offering up our daily works for their peace.

We also discussed the young man who caused all of this pain and suffering. We understand he was from an unstable home. We talked about what the consequence should be for his behavior. We discussed how the home environment may have contributed to his actions.

My younger son attended the vigil Tuesday night. Even though he doesn't attend Chardon School, I totally support him attending the vigil and supporting one another in a show of unity as a generation there for one another.
 
It's such a shame that we turn to prayer after a tragedy. Maybe we should turn to God first and maybe we could avoid some of these tragedies.

Kim Zannetti: I think it is important to talk at their level. To answer the questions they ask.  Sometimes we try to bombard kids with too much information, trying to make sure we have "covered all the bases."  All the information does not have to be given at one setting.

What we usually see is that they will take the information we give, take time to process it, and if they need to, ask additional questions. I also believe that straight, to the point information is needed. Don't answer questions you don't have the answers to. We also need to be careful of making promises or assurances that we can't keep.