Dear Military Families,
Attached is a resource titled “Children and their Fears,” which was written by Dr. Matt Devereaux, UT Child Development Specialist.
I hope you find this information helpful,
Carrera
From: Devereaux, Matthew J
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2012 10:58 AM
To: EXT-ALL
Subject: Children and Fears Resource
Hello,
In addition to other resources I have been sending out to address the unfortunate events this past Friday, here is another resource for parents and educators related to children’s fears. This week children across America will go back to school where they will
begin to hear from teachers and their peers about the mass shooting in Connecticut – but mostly they will gain information from their peers.
Kindergartners, first graders, second graders, etc. will talk to each other and say things like, “did you know there were a bunch of children killed in a school?” or similar statements. For some elementary students, this will be
brand new information as their parents will have protected them from the news and the unsettling details of what took place. This is when a child’s fears will begin to grow.
It’s critical that over the next couple weeks we as educators, parents and citizens continue to communicate with our children to answer their questions and help them feel safe. If we don’t, children will fill those unanswered questions
with answers that are unfounded, untrue and quite scary.
This attachment provides info not only on fears but on general safety precautions to take with children in everyday living as well.
For information on how to talk to your kids about violence visit our FCS website front page.
http://fcs.tennessee.edu/fcs/default.aspx
If you need additional resources feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Matt
Matt Devereaux
Associate Professor and Child Development Specialist
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
2621 Morgan Circle
119 Morgan Hall
Knoxville, TN 37996
(865) 974-3234 (fax)
(865) 974-7193