--- title: Orlando Shooting: How to Talk to Your Kids description: Child development experts weigh in on talking to children of all ages about attacks in the news. canonical: https://time.com/4366400/orlando-shooting-parenting/ author: Belinda Luscombe article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-13T16:03:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:57:42.551Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How to Talk to Your Kids About the Orlando Shooting og:description: Child development experts say parents shouldn't ignore their anxiety og:url: https://time.com/4366400/orlando-shooting-parenting/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29d2c565b4dc01f7/6988978e656a3f32f9bcbe4d/gettyimages-539779162.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Vigil in Orlando for victims of the Orlando Terrorist Massacre og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Talk to Your Kids About the Orlando Shooting twitter:description: Child development experts say parents shouldn't ignore their anxiety twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29d2c565b4dc01f7/6988978e656a3f32f9bcbe4d/gettyimages-539779162.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Talk to Your Kids About the Orlando Shooting  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Jun 13, 2016 4:03 PM UTC  A girl holds a lit candle during a vigil for the victims of the terrorist massacre at the gay night club, Pulse, at Eola Lake in Orlando, USA on June 12. A girl holds a lit candle during a vigil for the victims of the terrorist massacre at the gay night club, Pulse, at Eola Lake in Orlando, USA on June 12.Anadolu Agency—Getty Images  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Jun 13, 2016 4:03 PM UTC For kids, Orlando is usually known as the home of the so-called “happiest place on earth,” Disney World, but that has been the opposite of true since [the shooting at a gay nightclub](http://time.com/4365988/orlando-shooting-omar-mateen-police-pulse/?xid=homepage) in that city on the early morning of June 12\. Because kids may have already heard of Orlando, it’s possible they are alerted more to events there than usual and have questions for their parents. While it’s natural to want to shield kids, especially young ones from horrible and terrifying events, parents should be ready to answer any questions their children have, say child development experts. This is a very tricky story to tell and it’s O.K. to say that you don’t have all the answers. It’s also perfectly natural to be upset and sad, but experts suggest that you keep as calm a demeanor as you can manage when talking to them, because kids very much pick up their cues from parents. Experts always encourage parents to trust their instincts. Kids vary in levels of anxiety, and vulnerability. You know your kid and what they can handle better than anyone. Tragically, this is not the first big attack that parents may have had cause to talk to their kids about. After the attacks in Paris in November 2015, TIME asked prominent child development experts for guidance on how to discuss these event with their children. That advice, below is relevant again today. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4366400/orlando-shooting-parenting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4366400/orlando-shooting-parenting/"},"headline":"How to Talk to Your Kids About the Orlando Shooting","datePublished":"2016-06-13T16:03:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:57:42.551Z","description":"Don't ignore their anxiety, but be reassuring","url":"https://time.com/4366400/orlando-shooting-parenting/","keywords":["Parenting","Living","Family","kids","How-To","shootings","Orlando"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29d2c565b4dc01f7/6988978e656a3f32f9bcbe4d/gettyimages-539779162.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Belinda Luscombe","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29d2c565b4dc01f7/6988978e656a3f32f9bcbe4d/gettyimages-539779162.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vigil in Orlando for victims of the Orlando Terrorist Massacre","caption":"Vigil in Orlando for victims of the Orlando Terrorist Massacre","creditText":"Anadolu Agency—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/parenting/","name":"Parenting"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4366400/orlando-shooting-parenting/","name":"How to Talk to Your Kids About the Orlando Shooting"}}]}] ```