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Quote of the Week
"If we don't let children know it's okay to feel sad and scared, they may think something is wrong with them when they do feel that way." --Fred Rogers
Nine Tips For Talking With Kids About Trauma
We find ourselves confronted on a nearly daily basis, with violence around the world--violence directed not just at combatants or people in conflict, but against ordinary people-- men, women, and children, just like us, going about their lives. We struggle to make sense of this and worry about how to cope in a world that has become increasingly dangerous. And we know that, even as we struggle, our children do, too. They may not hear the complete news reports as we do, but they undoubtedly notice our stress. Schools now conduct armed intruder drills with children instructed to curl up on the floor like rocks in case someone comes on campus with guns. What must they be thinking and feeling as they lie there? How can we help them cope?
We cannot insulate our children from violence and tragedies, but we can help them to process these traumatic experiences by calmly listening to their observations and concerns, supporting them to connect with their own emotions and being positive by encouraging them to see the light amidst the darkness. Below are nine tips from parenting and education experts to help us handle these difficult conversations. [read more]
Reading Corner
 Title: The Cello of Mr. O
By: Jane Cutler
Ages: 5 - 9
Why? "In a ravaged, war-torn city, where heat must come from burning furniture and even cherished books, where even the relief truck is destroyed by enemy fire, how can people find hope? In this powerfully evocative picture book, one little girl discovers the answer.
Mr. O is a crotchety old man. The heroine of this story and her friends like to tease him--they run in the halls, making noise, and they pop paper bags outside his door. But every Wednesday afternoon, when the relief truck used to bring flour and other staples, Mr. O marches into the square, sits down, and begins to play his cello. It's not until the Wednesday when a bomb again hits the square that the little girl realizes what Mr. O has been trying to teach them all: that music--and courage--can sustain the spirit just as bread sustains the body.
Jane Cutler has created a poignant tribute to the unnamed city of Sarajevo in a story that celebrates the kinship between generations. Greg Couch's timeless illustrations, abstract in form yet piercingly beautiful in the emotions they capture, portray at once the tragedy of war and the power of human dignity." --Publishers
Recommended by Cubs Editors
Be The Change
Initiate a conversation with your kids about what concerns or scares them that they are hearing on the news and really listen to them, acknowledging their feelings. Consider watching this video of Mr. Rogers helping children deal with trauma here.
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