Buffalo. Uvalde. Tulsa. Horrific news coverage of mass shootings seems to be endless and it is impacting the mental health of children and parents. Especially parents. So how can we help our children and help ourselves get through these incredibly difficult times? We ask experts Kia Carter, M.D., and Cameron Brown, D.Min., M.Div., BSSW to guide us.

Dr. Carter is the medical director of inpatient Psychiatry at Cook Children’s Medical Center and recounts the discussion she had with her own young daughter after the Uvalde school shooting. She advises parents to talk to their children about events like the shooting in Uvalde, and revisit the conversation often.

Dr. Brown is a chaplain at Cook Children’s and served as a firefighter with the Fort Worth Fire Department for more than 30 years. Her expertise is caring for the caretakers, such as the first responders and emergency room staff who witness tragedies involving children. She was also a first responder on the scene of the Wedgewood Baptist Church shooting in Fort Worth in 1999, which killed seven people and wounded an additional seven.

We hope this episode of Raising Joy offers a sense of community as we all process these traumas together. And we hope it provides reliable information that parents can put to use.

Raising Joy is part of Cook Children’s Health Care System’s Joy Campaign, a communications initiative aimed at preventing youth suicides. For more information about the Joy Campaign, visit cookchildrens.org/joy.