HJAR Sep/Oct 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  SEP / OCT 2022 39 Joseph W. Thompson, MD, MPH President and Chief Executive Officer Arkansas Center for Health Improvement attention, such as sleeping with the lights on; being newly fearful; changes in interactions with friends; or regres- sive behavior, i.e., behavior that is less mature than usual. • Changes in behavior that may be less noticeable to you, such as changes in eating habits or initiation of tobacco, alcohol, or substance use. • Emotional problems such as sadness, depression, anxiety, or fearfulnesse. • Anything that triggers your innate pa- rental sense of concern, even if you can’t define it. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if a child is reacting in a typical way to an upsetting event or is having significant problems cop- ing and would benefit from extra support. If you suspect the latter may be the case, reach out to your pediatrician or family physician for help. Finally, if you are having difficulty coping with events in the news, remember that your children look to you for emotional stability and a model for behavior. You can tell them the events bother you, but don’t increase your children’s fear by appearing exces- sively agitated. If you need to talk to some- one, reach out to friends, family, clergy, your family physician, or a mental health profes- sional. Sometimes adults need help too. n REFERENCES 1 Gun Violence Archive. “Gun Violence Archive 2022.” Updated July 31, 2022. https://www. gunviolencearchive.org 2 Schonfeld, D. “How to Talk With Kids About Tragedies & Other Traumatic News Events.” Last updated Jun 9, 2022. Original source: American Academy of Pediatrics. https://www.healthy - children.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/ talking-to-children-about-tragedies-and-other- news-events.aspx away from the disturbing images and sounds that may appear on television, ra- dio, the internet, and social media. Also, try not to expose your children to repetition of this content as the incident’s aftermath and investigation are detailed in successive, ongoing news cycles. If your children are old enough to access television and the internet on their own, they are likely to encounter information about these events regardless of what you do. Be aware of what is out there, and don’t wait until your kids have heard about a tragic news event to talk to them about it. This will allow you to help prepare them for what they might see or hear. It will be better for them to hear about it first from you than from another source such as social media or another child. For older children, if they wish to see news coverage of a tragic event, record it and preview it if possible, evaluating the content. Then watch it with them, pausing to stop and have a discussion as needed. If your children are accessing information on their own about a disturbing news event, you may want to start a discussion with them, in a nonjudgmental way, about whether the amount of media they are consuming is healthy. Watch for signs that a child may not be coping well, which could include: • Sleep problems such as nightmares or difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking. • Physical complaints such as tiredness, headaches, stomachaches, or a gener- ally unwell feeling. • Changes in behavior that catch your “Be aware of what is out there, and don’t wait until your kids have heard about a tragic news event to talk to them about it. This will allow you to help prepare them for what they might see or hear. It will be better for them to hear about it first from you than from another source such as social media or another child.”