A recent school shooting in Michigan was the deadliest since 2018.
School shootings are a subject that may leave parents feeling “helpless,” according to ASU sociology and family dynamics professor Sarah Lindstrom Johnson.
She told PBS’ “Arizona Horizon” that there are ways for parents to discuss school shootings with their children without increasing their anxiety on the subject.
“And so it is about teaching them, or showing them, or helping them think through, who are those people at their school who are actively keeping them safe,” said Johnson.
Johnson says parents should be on the lookout for signs of anxiety surrounding school shootings, such as no longer wanting to sleep alone or trying to avoid going to school.
She says that Arizona is fortunate to have a state-funded school safety program that began in the 1990s, including the recent expansion of school social workers and school counselors.
