Sandy Hook shootings: Talking to kids about the tragedy

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Although the immediacy and tension of last week’s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., may have passed, the anguish and anxiety linger for many Americans as they watch coverage of funerals for the dead children and teachers.

How can parents explain such a tragedy to their kids, even as they themselves can’t understand it?

LIVE DISCUSSION: Join us at noon today

Columnist and parent David Lazarus will explore that topic in a live video conversation with experts Cathy Paine and Stephen Brock from the National Assn. of School Psychologists and Newport-Mesa School Board trustee Katrina Foley in a Google+ Hangout on Air.

Understanding the tragedy may not be possible, Paine told The Times’ Thomas Curwen recently, but parents can help their children with the fear and insecurity that shootings evoke, whether they experienced the incident firsthand or through media accounts.

Our guests will offer some insight and suggestions on how to respond to your kids’ and your own emotions about the tragedy.

Please join the conversation by submitting questions on this post and on our Google+ and Facebook pages.

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