Gun violence and children

“I think it’s so important for parents to take a deep breath, and jump in and have the hard conversation. What the science tells us is that parents that are willing to talk about these topics with their children, their children actually do better than [children of] parents who try to protect them and shield them from any discussions. So it can start as simple as, there has been a shooting in Texas; tell me what you know, or tell me what you’ve heard.” (Posted May 25, 2022 | Download Video)

Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D.
Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Duke University Medical Center and Center for Child & Family Health Grab This Quote

“When we think about how to talk to children about gun violence, there’s things that we can say. We can check in how they’re feeling and validate them, rather than trying to talk them out of the feelings. But we also can’t make promises: I promise this will not happen to you. So I think we can say, your school is doing everything it can to keep you safe, and I would never send you to school if I didn’t think everything was being done for you to be safe—so that you’re reassuring their sense of safety.” (Posted May 25, 2022 | Download Video)

Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D.
Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Duke University Medical Center and Center for Child & Family Health Grab This Quote

“When families think about how to continue to help their children cope right now, it may be a) talking to them about it, and b) being a good role model. So they can see that, even though you’re distressed, you’re going to be OK. I think it is important to consider what you’ve used in the past. What activities have helped: relaxation, listening to music, playing a game, watching something silly, having family dance night—I know a lot of families have been doing that out there. So consider what has helped your family. And I think it’s really important, even though it seems pretty dark right now, to help children recognize that we have been through some pretty rough times in the last two years, and we’re going to be able to get through this, as well.” (Posted May 25, 2022 | Download Video)

Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D.
Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Duke University Medical Center and Center for Child & Family Health Grab This Quote

“Children may have many reactions from stress. You may see changes in sleep, in behaviors, they may be more irritable, problems with focus and concentration, attention. Just things are different than they normally are—more irritability. So if you see these changes, and they’re lasting for a while, to the point that they are interfering with day-to-day functioning, please don’t wait. Reach out to your pediatrician, to your family care doctor, to your local mental health agency, to get some support, because there are wonderful evidence-based, scientifically grounded treatments for children as well as for adults. So, know that those are out there and available if you see anything that can say, hey, this may be a problem. Because if we don’t do anything, we know that children have increased risk for depression, anxiety, and, as they get older, substance use and thinking about suicide. So better than to err on the side of caution than to wait, and then it’s too late.” (Posted May 25, 2022 | Download Video)

Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D.
Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Duke University Medical Center and Center for Child & Family Health Grab This Quote

“It’s important to remember, first off, that school shootings are rare. They’re a subset of public mass shootings which, in their entirety, account for no more than one to two percent of deaths from gun violence in the United States. But that said, the Washington Post has data released just Wednesday showing that in 2021 there were more than forty school shootings, which is more than the Post has seen in any of the years for which they have data, going back to about 2000.” (Posted May 25, 2022 | Download Video)

Garen J. Wintemute, M.D., M.P.H.
Emergency medicine physician, University of California Davis Medical Center; director, California Firearm Violence Research Center Grab This Quote

“Young people are involved in firearm violence in many different ways. We need to remember that suicide is a form of firearm violence, and young people are tragically involved in that, too. Some of the strategies are specific to a form of violence. Violence interrupter programs, for example, are effective in preventing community violence. I’m going to focus on common denominators, things that seem to apply whether we’re taking mass shootings or homicide or suicide. Alienation, not having a sense of a future, substance use—on occasion, but less than people think, except for suicide—mental illness, and certainly access to firearms play a role right across the gamut.” (Posted May 25, 2022 | Download Video)

Garen J. Wintemute, M.D., M.P.H.
Emergency medicine physician, University of California Davis Medical Center; director, California Firearm Violence Research Center Grab This Quote

“We have a lot to learn from other countries. This observation first: We are not—myths to the contrary notwithstanding—a uniquely violent society. Our rates of assaultive violence are not that remarkable. What we have is access to a technology that changes the outcome. What we also have, more than many other countries, is an increase in polarization, a lack of respect for difference of opinion. Other countries have managed not to go off the rails in that way. Other countries have managed to do a better job of regulating access and use of firearms. We have all those lessons to learn from other countries.” (Posted May 25, 2022 | Download Video)

Garen J. Wintemute, M.D., M.P.H.
Emergency medicine physician, University of California Davis Medical Center; director, California Firearm Violence Research Center Grab This Quote