Community Corner

Newtown: Your Kids Have Probably Heard About It, If They're Online

PBS shares strategies for talking and listening to your children about the Newtown news.

If your children have access to the Internet -- including Instagram, Facebook, etc. -- they have likely heard about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Your children may have questions and you may find yourself in a difficult discussion. 

Editor's Note: When my middle schoolers saw it on Instagram, they thought it happened in Newton, Mass.

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For parents seeking guidance on how to address the tragedy with their own children, if it comes up, PBS has an article with flexible suggestions for answering kids' questions about the news.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also has a 24-hour hotline dedicated to providing disaster crisis counseling at 1-800-985-5990 or by texting "TalkWithUs" to 66746. The hotline is open to U.S. residents who are experiencing psychological distress as a result of a natural or man-made disasters, incidents of mass violence or any other disasters.

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