Today is another sad day related to people dying while engaging in innocent activity - worshipping this time. This shooting follows so soon after the horrible shooting in Colorado while people were again engaging in an innocent activity - watching a movie.
What must our teens think about this? The responses may surprise you. Some teens react with fear, but a number see this as "business as usual." They have become numbed by the number of these occurrences that have happened during their lifetime. We must remember, today's teens were 9-11's toddlers. So they have reached adolescent hearing about traumas.
What do we as parents do? We must continue talking to our teens when these tragedies happen and encourage our teen to realize that this is not the way life should be. We need to help them get in touch with fear and sadness they may have. But we also need to help them think about ways in which they can keep themselves safe. And if they find themselves in the unthinkable position of being in such an area how they might react which would give them the greatest chance of survival. Studies show that people who have thought ahead are better able to respond in a crisis.
I pray that these senseless acts of violence will cease and our teens can see life in a different way. My prayers are with the families and faith community of the Sikh community who were killed and injured.
Dr. Debra
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