Special Episode: How do you talk to kids about violence in the news?

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

Vermont Public

Nature, Language, Kids & Family, Science

4.4 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2022

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When there's mass violence in the news, especially when it involves children, it can be really hard to know how to speak to your kids about what is going on. In this special episode FOR ADULTS, we talk with a child psychologist about some recommended ways to approach these conversations. We first released this episode in 2016, and are heartbroken and angry that it remains so relevant.

Dr. Robin Gurwitch is a child psychologist at the Duke University Medical Center, and she has served on numerous commissions and committees about children and trauma, including the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters.

Though this episode is for adults, we know children sometimes listen to episodes without adults around, so the information in this episode is intended to be non-traumatizing for children to hear. (Transcript)

Here are additional links for more information:

[American Psychological Association](about:blank)
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
The Family Acceptance Project

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is But Why, a podcast for curious kids from Vermont Public Radio. I'm Jane Lindholm.
0:21.7	This is a special episode just for adults. So if you're listening with kids, I'm going
0:26.8	to give you a second to stop this podcast or skip it and go on to something else.
0:36.2	We originally made this episode the day after and in response to a mass shooting in Orlando,
0:41.9	Florida at the Pulse Night Club. Sadly, it's relevant all too frequently when violence
0:48.0	erupts and tragedy strikes and the news seems unavoidable. In these situations, you may
0:54.2	be overwhelmed by your own heartbreak, fear and anxiety. And it's very difficult to
0:59.5	know how to address what's happening or shield the news from your children. Should you
1:05.3	shelter them from the horrors you're consuming on the news? Do you sit them down and explain
1:09.9	things? Wait for them to ask you questions? What do you do if you want to keep the news
1:15.1	from them? But worry they may hear things that trouble them at school or on the playground.
1:20.8	Dr. Robin Gerwitch is a child psychologist at the Duke University Medical Center and
1:25.8	she has served on numerous national organizations that look at childhood trauma, including the
1:30.8	National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters. She's been researching and providing
1:36.0	direct services and training on children and trauma since the Oklahoma City bombing in
1:40.8	1995. We asked her for some advice on how to broach issues like the shootings in Orlando
1:47.8	or Sandy Hook or violence in other parts of the world with children and we're going
1:52.6	to play you that interview again today. For one thing we asked her, can you shelter
1:57.8	your children from the news? Prevent them from having to deal with it at all.
2:02.0	It would be wonderful if we could wrap our armors around children and prevent bad things
2:07.1	from ever happening to them, but that unfortunately is not how the world works. Certainly very, very
2:13.3	young children, zero to three, hopefully can be protected from images, discussions, but
	...

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