Pediatrician offers advice for talking to children about Mall of Louisiana shooting

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A pediatrician is sharing advice for parents about how to explain tragedy and violence to children following a mass shooting at the Mall of Louisiana.

Authorities said the shooting happened Thursday, April 23, and left one person dead and five others hurt. The victim who died was identified as Martha Odom, 17, a student at Ascension Episcopal in Lafayette.

Dr. Susan Bankston with the Baton Rouge Clinic said parents should initiate the conversation.

“You don’t want the child to be thinking about things, to be ruminating on it, to be coming up with their own answers, which probably aren’t right,” Bankston said. “And you want to make sure that you get their perspective of what happened. You ask them, what did you hear about this, so that you can answer questions, gently correct any misinformation, and find out what your child needs from you.”

Keeping conversations simple

Bankston said parents should try to keep things simple and brief when speaking to young people about violence.

Adults need to make sure they provide facts that aren’t too graphic and that are age appropriate, she explained.

“You may need to separate. If you have a high school and a third-grader, you need to talk to those children differently. If they’re all in middle school, maybe you can sit them down and talk together and get everybody’s input,” Bankston said.

Bankston said parents should use the conversation with their children as a chance to provide reassurance about safety. She pointed to the fact that there were more people safe than not safe when the shooting at the mall took place.

Safety advice for children can include making sure they know to look for adults, leaders and first responders when help is needed. In addition, Bankston said parents should make sure kids are always aware of their surroundings.

“We don’t want every kid to think that the mall is a dangerous place. So now, we’re going to talk to them about how we can be safe, how we need to work as a unit, and you positively build them up to where they’re not afraid of it,” Bankston said.

Validating feelings

Parents need to make sure they validate a young person’s feelings, explaining to a child that being scared or anxious is normal.

“It’s okay to be anxious about it. Let’s get out that anxiety. I always tell my kids when I’m talking to them, my patients, put it out here so we can beat it up. If you leave it in here, it’s going to eat you alive. You shrink it. You get it down to something that they can handle,” Bankston said.

Bankston said reassurance can also include making sure a young person understands that his or her feelings are true and honest.

Limiting what children see on social media and television is another way of helping them to manage their emotions.

Warning signs

Bankston said adults need to watch for warning signs in children. These can include a child starting to withdraw, becoming more clingy and having trouble focusing.

“We want to make sure that we start the conversation and then we make sure that they don’t need to seek bigger help, more psychiatric type help,” Bankston said.

Experts said parents can have intense emotions about tragedy and should also not be afraid to seek help if needed.

Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for someone in crisis through the 988 hotline. The number launched in 2022 and provides callers with assistance from mental health professionals.

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