Talking Points: Talking To Kids About Castile, Police Shootings
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Following a week that brought a parade of images of violent deaths and clashes between police and protesters, there is a question on parents' minds: How do we talk to our children about the shootings that happened here in Minnesota, Texas and Louisiana?
Dr. Fayneese Miller, the president of Hamline University, is a social psychologist and nationally-recognized expert on ethnic studies. She says all parents should talk and engage their children, especially parents of color.
"[Focus on] what your hopes and dream are for the future, letting your kids know they matter, having a conversation that does not denigrate any group of people," Miller said on WCCO Sunday Morning. "What you do is let them know what their rights are."
She says it is also a time for parents who are police officers to talk and engage their children in a conversation about why they chose to be an officer and why that job is so important to them and all the people they protect.