Talking to Your Kids about School Violence

Ever since the Columbine shootings parents and students can’t help but be on edge about school violence and question whether or not schools are really safe anymore. It seems as if since that faithful day, school violence is in the news more than ever so it’s no wonder that our kids are worried. Seeing the images on television and being bombarded with the details of such incidents on TV as well as online makes it seem as if school violence is a given, but fortunately that’s not the case. While school violence is certainly a reality of our society and one that you need to talk to your kids about, incidents as severe as Columbine are rare.

What you as well as your children need to remember is that the news is just that—the news. It focuses on major events and little more. So when you have every channel flashing you a news story about school violence ending in death it may seem overwhelming and it as if this is something that is happening everywhere at every moment, when really statistics show that less than one percent of child murder cases happen at school or on the way to or from school. And when you consider how many children and schools there are in our world, that’s a very tiny percentage. This is not to minimize the magnitude of these tragedies in any way, but rather to give you a clearer understanding of how rare something like that is so that you can in turn help your child to understand.

Talking to your kids about school violence isn’t any about sharing statistics but also helping them to understand the realities, both good and bad. While the chances of being killed at school are very slim, school violence and bullying is very real and varies in severity. Your child needs to understand that bullying is not okay and that resorting to violence doesn’t solve anything. Take the time to listen to their concerns and do your best to help them and put their minds at ease. A good way to do this is by sharing with them the methods that have been implemented in order to make school safer. Let them know that they can always come to you if there is a problem and be sure to let them know that they can count on their teachers and guidance counsellors as well. You don’t want to do anything to alarm them further or raise their anxiety level about school violence but be sure that they understand the importance of reporting anything unusual as well as any bullying or gang activity going on in their school. Having the tools to handle a situation will help them to feel less helpless and anxious.