Expert Urges Parents To Limit Children's Exposure to Bombing News From Boston
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By John Ostapkovich
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The 24-hour news cycle continues to spread the trauma of the Boston bombings worldwide in the blink of an eye, and that can easily be too much for kids.
Donna Fiedler, assistant professor of social work at La Salle University and an expert in emotional trauma and recovery, says it's important to answer kids' questions in an age-appropriate and specific way -- little bits for little minds, with emphasis on reassurance.
By the time children are off at school, hearing everything their friends are hearing, it becomes more difficult. But, Prof. Fiedler says, at home you can limit the impact of wall-to-wall coverage.
"Anytime we have a crisis, like with Sandy, if a family put the TV on and just left it on, because they just repeat the cycle it's overload. And we don't want to overload children," she warns, because it can produce stressed children who have more difficulty listening in school, problems with sleep, and challenges in other facets of life.
