The shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 dead and many more injured on Wednesday may bring up emotions and questions especially among school-aged children.
"You want to be there for them and want to let them know it's OK to talk about it," said 9NEWS psychologist Dr. Max Wachtel.
Denver Public Schools, Cherry Creek Schools and others put messages out to their students and their families. They included a link to resources to help parents talk to their children about violence. One thing you can do is reassure children that school is a safe place.
"It feels disingenuous because it just happened and it keeps happening, it happens over and over again, but it's actually very rare, these kind of shootings you know in terms of risk of death," said Dr. Wachtel.
Experts also say talking about what happened can help children process what they're feeling.
"It's important to acknowledge that you're struggling. Know that it's OK to be feeling kind of bad about that, and rest assured that for most people this will be a temporary thing," said Dr. Wachtel.
DPS noted that according to research there are warning signs before about 80% of violent incidents.
If anyone is concerned about a young person in crisis, or a young person that may be a danger to themselves or others, they can contact Safe2Tell at 1-877-542-7233, online at http://www.Safe2Tell.org or via the Safe2Tell mobile app. There are people available 24/7 to take anonymous reports about anything that threatens or concerns you.
