TAMPA, Fla. — The school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, brought up familiar emotions for families across the country and has them facing difficult but needed conversations.
Being a parent is a precious gift that Ryan Ward said he couldn’t wait to experience.
“It’s crazy. It’s like your heart is outside of your chest,” he said as he looked down at his little girl Mya being pushed in the swing.
Mya is his and his wife’s first baby. As much as they love being parents, it’s also terrifying, especially when they hear about school shootings.
“It’s something that puts fear in my heart every time I see it,” said Minda Patt as she smiled at her two daughters playing on the swings.
The latest school shooting happened more than 700 miles away at a private Presbyterian school in Nashville. Six people were killed, including three children. Police killed the suspect.
“It’s devastating,” said Patt.
According to the Associated Press, 348,000 American students have experienced gun violence at their school since the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine.
“It’s devastating when we are in a country as beautiful as this and you just want to have your children well educated,” Patt said. “Our children don’t deserve that.”
Psychologists said it’s important that parents have difficult conversations about active shooter situations with their children.
“It’s never a good time to talk about bad things to anyone, but worse is not talking about it at all,” Dr. Eddy Regnier said. “This is such a scary topic. Even my parents are afraid of it. We don’t want to die a child that kind of message.”
Every district in the state of Florida has active shooter safety drills, and kids are doing them just as often as they do fire drills. Doctors said it’s important that parents know what their district’s plan is for each school and make sure students know as well.
“Remind them of the core components of any drill, which is to listen to adults and be able to remind quiet,” said Dr. Jennifer Katzenstein.
Katzenstein is the co-director of behavioral health at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Also, after an active shooter situation, she said parents need to remember to also monitor their children closely, checking for anxiety, worry, nervousness, and check for depression or mood changes.
Psychologists also said for parents; it’s important to remember that you’re the greatest source of comfort for your kids at moments like this.
“We have problems, but remember, we are stronger than this,” said Regnier.
