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How are you handling Newtown?

I am sad and mad about it, too, Kaye. I have had a hard time dealing with the news of this tragedy. I think because I have a first grade boy, and seeing the pictures of the victims reminds me of him and his classmates. My heart breaks for the families.

We did tell our children Friday evening. They were going to practices, birthday parties and church class this past weekend and I wanted to make sure they heard it from us instead of from other kids. We didn't go into much detail. I want to make sure they don't fear going to school.

I work at our school library on Mondays and there was a small police presence at the school this morning but they left soon after the kids were in their classrooms. I realized that I had no idea what to do during a school lockdown so I made sure I was up to speed on that. Though I have to say it didn't make me feel good to know the procedure because in the library we are really limited when it comes to hiding places and there really isn't a good place for us to go for lockdown. The mood at school was very somber today.
 
I`m not good enough in English to tell exactely what I`m feeling... but that tragedy brought tears in my eyes on and off and I`m very very sad about that. Maybe I am emotional because my ds is 8 y/o and to imagine that there are peaople in this world that shoot little kids is impossible for me. Even though it`s far far away we talked with him about that... not in a long discussion but we tried to explain what happened. Since it`s in the news all the time he heard a bit about it and we wanted to be sure that he understands... as far as a 8 y/o can understand this.

Same as Kaye: I`m happy that the gun laws are strict right here but I know that same can happen everywhere... and it happend in Germany a few years ago too. It`s always sad and tragic. Never easy to deal with. A long time in mind. But I also think ~ from the distance ~ that the next time it would be good to think about the gun laws again... and again.

My thoughts are with the familys and the whole town. My heart is broken for them.
 
It broke my heart and I grabbed and hugged my girls as tight as I could, grateful that I have them. I can't possibly imagine the anguish the families of all who were killed are experiencing and all I have to give them are my tears.
 
As a mom and a grandmother, I was so heartbroken for everyone. What a sad day indeed! I don't see my grandbabies everyday but this past Sunday when 4 of them came over for their weekly visit, I just wanted to hug them and hold them and tell them everything was ok. They didn't know what had happened but it really hit me when DH just wanted to hug the boys too. It affected everyone I know. Especially since I work for a school district.
 
I truly can't even fathom what those families are going through. Helene is almost 6 and in Kindergarten - I just keep thinking that could have been one of my children. And then I am a wreck. I hate feeling out of control, knowing that this can happen anywhere.

We did discuss it with our girls. I am not sure they really grasped it all. Ella kept bringing it up and saying how horrible it made her feel.
 
It's such a horrific tragedy. There really are no words!

I was so angered when I saw them interviewing the kids, but then I saw a report on Sunday morning that said parents sign a media release when their kids start school, so in case there are any events and photos are taken, they're covered. OMG...nobody was thinking the worst though when they were signing those. The reporters aren't trained in talking to small children about these things, so they're asking them questions they'd be asking adults.

I've actually just found myself angered by things people are posting on facebook. I won't go into them here, because I'll just get even angrier, and probably offend many people, so I'll keep those thoughts to myself.

I just hope these babies didn't die in vain, and that there will be changes to our laws. That's all!
 
How am I handling Newtown?
I'm heartbroken for the families.
I'm shocked at the complete lack of journalistic responsibility in the wake of this tragedy.
I'm also heartbroken for our Autism community, now put on the defensive and the unjustified stigma being placed on them.
 
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I am heartbroken and shed many tears. I haven't been able to find the words...for anything...and finding the words is something I've always been able to do. I feel sad. I have moments of feeling as if all I fill my days with (beyond my family and those things that *matter*) is trite. I feel guilty that I get to hug my six year old and those parents do not.

And yet, I feel grateful for what I have. I feel confident in what I know to be true. And I do still have hope.
 
nockosh said:
I cannot even imagine what it would be like to send my child to school, having to walk by a police officer or a security officer first. To me that is just wrong and frightening.
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Kaye, my DD's private school has a full-time (well, "full time" as in during school and after-care hours), off-duty armed police officer. In all honesty, the school has some great security features, but the only thing that makes me feel "secure" is the officer. But NOT because he is armed: rather, I take comfort in knowing that a person who has been trained extensively to handle volatile situations is always present at DD's school. He is a trained set of eyes and ears who pays attention to details that, frankly, the teachers can't. They're too busy wrangling kids at drop off/pick up and doing what they should be doing in between: Teaching our children.
DD's school has 16 cameras, is completely fenced/gated (car gates require a code, pedestrian gates require monitored access), and the school's doors are always locked (can only get in by ringing the office, which requires you to show ID to a CC TV before they let you in). BUT, like I said, those things don't make me feel half as secure as the off-duty officer. A person could ram a car through the gate, break down the door (or wait for someone leaving and slip in), and they're in the building. The officer can be there to handle an incident--or hopefully, scare a person off from even attempting something horrible. We live in a very large city, so I try not to be naive about what could happen. As far as it being frightening, the man is always very nice to the kids. He waves if they wave, and he and I always say a few words at pick up. And he doesn't walk around like a Beefeater with his weapon at the ready. It's holstered and barely noticeable on his black belt. I'd rather have him there than not have him there.
But that's my experience. Our city has had some tragedies in the past, and I'm trying hard to be realistic about what is necessary to keep our children safe--even if it seems wrong to see it at a school.
 
I can certainly understand that having the officer there could create a sense of comfort, but I just think it is sad and wrong that this is what is required in parts of our world.

I just hope that our country never gets to the point where we require that here
 
I'm pretty much on keel with Angie. I am not a crier - something has to happen very, very personally for me to shed a tear. I may be lacking empathy but when tragedies happen I do not cry or lose sleep over them. I am extremely sad and angry and hurting for those families. I can't put myself in their shoes and think about how it would feel - I have no idea how it would feel to lose a child in this manner, and I don't want to. I have a 7 year old little girl and two 5 year old boys.

If I start thinking about what could happen to my kids on a daily basis (fire, shootings, car accidents) I could go crazy. None of us are safe, none of our children are safe, sadly, and that is true all over the world and no matter where we are or where our children are. I can't let myself start thinking about the what ifs in life.

And also I'm with Angie on actually doing something. In my opinion (and I rarely state opinions this strongly) it's too easy to dismiss stricter gun laws, etc by saying that they won't stop criminals or people that aren't YET criminals from getting their hands on guns. I don't understand why it has to be all or nothing. If it stops one gunman from hurting one person, than it's worth it to me. I know a lot of people don't agree with me and that's fine. 99% of my family and other people in my area don't agree with me.
 
This tragedy has affected me more than any other. Because I have a daughter so close in age to the victims, I just can't help think about what if that were my kid? It's shattering. I think of those poor innocent children, and I literally get sick to my stomach. If I see pictures of their little faces, or hear their parent's talk about them, I lose it. I can't help but cry. And I am not normally a crier either!

I think what makes it worse is that a good friend of mine's niece goes to that school and is the same age as the victims. Her niece was okay but her niece's best friend and next door neighbor- Emilie Parker was among the dead. Seeing posts from my friend's sister, and hearing first hand stories from people affected by the tragedy is just too much. It makes my heartache to think about it for longer than 10 seconds.

And I think of the little girl who wanted cowboy boots for Christmas, and I think of her parents that are sitting there with her gifts for Christmas and they no longer have their baby to give the gifts to. I have to stop...it's too much. Getting weepy again.
 
I think I am in the same frame of mind as many of you. It is just SO heartbreaking. i am with Amy, if I think on it for more than 10 seconds, it takes my breath away and I feel overwhelmed with the grief of it all. Because my boys are six and are just a few months older than most of those killed, it definitely brings all those emotions of what those parents must be feeling. I am also kind of sickened by the media coverage of it, talking to the students that day, and almost feeling voyeuristic when I look through the news articles on line with the photos from that day. Yes, they are powerful, but oh my, who wants the absolute worst moments of one's life immortalized like that. I don't know, it is very disturbing.

We did not talk to our boys about it. They are in 1st grade and we rarely watch the news with them around and since they don't have older siblings who would hear about it, I just want to protect them from all the ugliness that this world holds--as long as possible.

I am teaching this year for the first time at a private Christian school--middle school and high schoolers and this definitely has sparked conversations with students. On Friday, our superintendent had a time of prayer over the intercom with our students and you could just see the wheels turning in their heads. So, we took time as needed this week to talk about it and also what our school's policy is and what security we have in place.
 
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