Effective Ways to Discuss School Violence with Your Kids | Parent's Guide to School Safety Conversations | For Home & Classroom Discussions

Reviewed by: Tyrone Vincent Banks of Betsie's Literary PageA Comprehensive and Well Written Guide to Protecting Your Children.In today's world, children face many challenges that those of previous generations did not encounter and could not imagine. There were those who suffered during the depression, war and other disasters, but, as it has been said by millions - no one could ever imagine the events of 9-11. However, there is another tragedy amidst many other tragedies that we have faced, and will face.Two figures wearing long black trench coats converge on a building carrying a bag of weapons. Utilizing various shotguns and semi-automatic weapons they begin to fire at the occupants of this building. This is not a scene from a movie - it is what is known as the worst U.S. school shooting in history. This is the Columbine Massacre. On April 20, 1999, 15 students perished - 13 innocent students and 2 gunmen. On that same day, 21 were injured.Later we found out that the students were planning this for over a year. Others asked where they could attain such destructive resources and the mindset to carry out such a dastardly plan. Some exclaimed: "Where were their parents? Didn't they know?" This is where this book comes in. Dr. Druck and his motivated colleagues have created a guide that has been written to help parents protect their kids from violence and to prevent any violence that their children may carry out.It is not designed as a "cure" to the sickness that violence has become. Society has become desensitized to violence. We see it in movies, on websites, video games, and sports events and even in the cartoons that our children watch. We wonder where the resources come from. Just go to your computer and type in anything and the answer - in detail - will flash on your screen within moments. The previous statements have determined the mindset and resources and now another factor has to be discussed; prevention.How to Talk to Your Kids About School Violence has outlined a proactive course of prevention. It starts with parents becoming role models in spite of their imperfections and the experiences that have molded them into the adults that they have become. We want our children to live better lives. There has always been a focus on avoiding strangers and not getting into strange vehicles - but now we must include scenarios in which kids bring weapons to school. It doesn't matter if you think that your kid is too young to carry out such plans, as mentioned earlier, violence and vengeance surrounds our children on a daily basis. We must teach them to report weapons or other destructive mediums to adults in authority. We must talk to our children, in a non-judgmental/non confrontational manner to defeat violent thoughts before they are acted upon.Parents are the first line of defense and sometimes the persons that kids rely on as a basis for their decisions. If we make poor decisions they may be cursed with doing the same thing. Open communication is the first step to preventing violence. The "that will never happen to my kid!" mentality has to be defeated if we want to protect our children. How to Talk to Your Kids About School Violence includes the statistics, resources and game-plan for helping our children thrive in this difficult world. There are several "what-if" scenarios included to help you conquer the unknown questions or subjects that you may face.We live in a violent world and education and information may be the only shields that will protect you against this violence. How to Talk to Your Kids About School Violence may be one of the first steps in helping your child cope with the pressures of society and make positive decisions. Even if you think that you have all of the answers, keep this fact in mind, the questions have changed.