Albany Junior High School Library

Notes

a kid's guide to coping with events in the news
Dawn Huebner ; illustrated by Kara McHale
78 pages
illustrations
Contents: Introduction for parents and caregivers -- Something happened -- Brains in high alert -- Calming your brain -- Gathering information -- Location, location, location -- Identifying helpers -- Understanding likelihood -- Dealing with feelings -- Self-care -- Healing the world
Summary: When children learn about something big and bad - even when they hear only bits and pieces - their brains get busy trying to make sense of it. Where did it happen? Why did it happen? And especially, will it happen again? Something Bad Happened guides children ages 6 to 12 and the adults who care about them through tough conversations about national and international tragedies. The non-specific term "bad thing" is used throughout, keeping this a flexible tool, and so children are never inadvertently exposed to events their parents have chosen not to share. Fear, sadness and uncertainty about the "bad thing" all are normalized, and immediately usable coping tools provided