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# Mental Health Expert Advises Parents How to Talk to Children About Recent School Violence
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/mental_health_expert_0616141121/
- Published: 2014-06-16T12:20:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T14:14:25.000Z
- Description: Mental health expert Dr. Gregory Jantz urges parents to talk with their children about recent school shootings right away, let the child lead the conversation, and pitch it to the child's developmental age, so the trauma does not settle into long-term PTSD.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Disease, Health News, #vivvo-import

EDMONDS, Wash., June 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Spurred by the most recent school shootings at UC Santa Barbara, Seattle Pacific University and in Troutdale, Oregon, Dr. Gregory Jantz, a renowned mental health expert, is coaching parents on how to discuss these violent tragedies with their children.

In a recent Fox News interview, Dr. Jantz emphasizes the importance of addressing these violent tragedies immediately. "We cannot let this trauma turn into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) where it stays with us long-term. We will always have the memory, but it cannot be a memory that harms us," Dr. Jantz says.

For parents with school-aged children, breaching these sensitive conversations with their kids can be difficult. Dr. Jantz advises parents to let the children guide the conversation. He also advises to be cognizant of developmental age differences between children that affect their ability to process information.

"What a younger kid can process is different than a person in high school or even junior high," explains Dr. Jantz. "But we must deal with it. We need to make it a family discussion."

In the wake of the recent school violence, Dr. Jantz believe that it is imperative for parents and mentors to understand how to best talk with children about these issues. He has provided parents tools and resources to help guide these conversations in his recent blogs and news interviews.

Resources for Parents:   
[How to Talk About School Shootings With Children](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hope-relationships/201406/how-talk-about-school-shootings-children?inf%5Fcontact%5Fkey=c5aba580dd3a55caef242e4291e1ec0fbbf8a239c6ad3493bf5f0cb9dbc3944b&ref=foodconsumer.org)   
[Talking to Your Kids About Violence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjWMn73YYZE&ref=foodconsumer.org)   
[How to Discuss School Shootings With Kids](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSoUDkWFMBU&ref=foodconsumer.org)

Dr. Gregg Jantz:  
[www.drgregoryjantz.com](http://www.drgregoryjantz.com/?ref=foodconsumer.org)  
[www.aplaceofhope.com](http://www.aplaceofhope.com/?ref=foodconsumer.org)

**Media Contacts:**

Beth Chapman, [816.835.0306](tel:816.835.0306), [Email](http://www.ereleases.com/pr/contact?pid=244087&ref=foodconsumer.org), Dr. Jantz Media Representative