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The thread about the 7th grader who got suspended and other punishments for writing a kill list with character as well as real names for Minecraft brought forward the fact that younger kids were not around for Columbine or some of the other horrific school shootings BY STUDENTS.
The Newtown disaster was perpetrated by an outsider who was hell bent on getting in the school while some others have been by actual students. That is why schools are so alarmed when they see something seemingly as innocent as a list of characters to eliminate in a video game.
I explained to my 11 year old daughters that sometimes but rarely a person becomes mentally ill and will decide to go on a shooting rampage at work or in D.C or in a school. But I've never discussed students themselves doing the shooting and i doubt they are aware of these cases.
Should we tell these younger kids about Columbine? Wouldn't it just unnecessarily disturb them? I think we can make sure that schools will not tolerate weapons in schools or even threats made in anger because a kid just might scare everybody and nobody knows if he is serious or not.
How do we protect the innocence of younger kids and still prepare them for the realities of today's society?
I don't think there's really any benefit in talking to our children about something that is statistically extremely unlikely to effect them, its just going to scare them.
I talked to my kids about it. We always discuss current events, even sad or scary ones. There's no point in hiding things like that until they're older. They might as well know that bad things can happen.
Besides, other kids talk about news events at school so they're going to hear it anyhow.
I talked to my kids about it. We always discuss current events, even sad or scary ones. There's no point in hiding things like that until they're older. They might as well know that bad things can happen.
Besides, other kids talk about news events at school so they're going to hear it anyhow.
Current events are a little different as they'll see it on the news but talking about Columbine seems a bit pointless (unless they hear about it and ask you). I mean I'm not going to tell my daughter about Jokela or Kauhajoki (shootings over here a few years ago) but if one happens when she's old enough that she's going to be paying attention to current events and she wants to talk about it then thats different.
I haven't told my kids, I don't even know what they would do about it if it happened. I am sure it would completely freak out 2 of 3 of my kids for a short time and they wouldn't sleep that night. I remember the "kidnapping" discussion my wife was having with my kids, they were mortified. Their faces went white and I sat in their rooms until they fell asleep that night...and then the next day, they acted like we didn't even say anything. We just talk about the importance of not talking with strangers now. They are still young, but I won't be talking about school shootings with them anytime soon.
Well, I'm a student who graduated from high school in 2012 and every year we did lock-down drills. The teachers would pull in students from the hallway, lock the door, and students would hide from any doors or windows (so the room looks empty). Lots of teachers had curtains covering the window on the door. If we were in the hallway and weren't near a classroom, we were told to hide in a bathroom or custodial closet.
We always talked about these things. My DS was in 6th grade the day of 9/11 - we still talk about that awful day. Couple of weeks ago, while DS and I were discussing 9/11 I mentioned Oklahoma City, DD who is 15, piped up with "what was Oklahoma City" and so we told her. I didn't realize that she really didn't know, she is not old enough. It is part of my conscience but not hers, the same with Columbine which my DS remembers but she was a baby.
In regards to school massacres etc, we do discuss but I like to keep things in perspective. The worst school event in regards to casualties at the hand of another occurred in 1927, the Bath school bombings. Then there was the UT shooting in 1966. School terror is not new. I think it is important that my children understand this is not a new phenomenon. There have been many events over the past 100 years that are tragic, but it wasn't until Columbine that these types of events seemed to grab a hold of our conscience and instill us with fear.
I want my children to be cautious and aware but not paralyzed by fear. Sadly, when I see things like the thread the OP mentioned, I feel we are becoming paralyzed by fear.
I actually bring a lot of the topics discussed here home to the dinner table. I call it the social dilemma of the day.
We just talk about the importance of not talking with strangers now.
I think it's better to tell them not to GO anywhere with strangers. In certain emergencies, they might be better off asking a stranger with a cell phone to call the police, etc., rather than not talking to anyone just because they don't know them. Of course, anyone who gives them a creepy vibe should be avoided in any case.
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