Dozens of school threats have been received by Central Florida schools in the last few weeks, with several students being arrested for possession of weapons on campuses.
The threats follow a shooting that left four dead at a Georgia high school earlier this month.
A wave of school threats have also impacted schools throughout the country from north to south, in states like Ohio and Illinois and here in Florida.
Kimberly Renk is a child psychologist at the University of Central Florida. She said parents should be honest with kids about the threats.
Renk said start by addressing big feelings that kids might have around school shootings, and then talk to them about their school’s safety plan.
She said the conversation should be solutions-focused, rather than talking about the details of past school shootings that might further traumatize young ones.
“What is the school saying the plan is, what did you learn in your classroom? How are you talking about it at school? So that parents have a basis or a foundation upon which they can build, and then from there, you can talk to your child about how safe are they feeling about that plan,” asked Renk.
Renk said families should also talk about any plans they might have for responding to a school threat, including how they might go about early school pickup.
“And so I think parents having discussions with their kids or a plan of attack ahead of time, that if there is a school threat, I will pick you up or not, or whatever the expectations are, the parent should set the tone of this is what our plan would be if something like that would would happen, and here's how I'm going to act so I can be very predictable for you and mitigate any anxiety you're experiencing,” said Renk.
Renk said if a parent is concerned about a child making a threat, or thinks their child is experiencing a mental health crisis, it’s imperative to take those warning signs seriously, and to get them the help they need.
“I think any kind of comment or threat should always be taken seriously, just in case. And then from there, I think identifying either a medical professional or mental health professional in the community that you have access to to further that discussion would be warranted. I mean, a good place to start would be just with your pediatrician, because you see them probably more regularly than other kinds of medical professionals or mental health professionals,” said Renk.
Here’s a list of resources where families can turn, if they need help supporting children experiencing a mental health crisis:
- The Florida Department of Children and Families provides mental health care locator tools for our state.
- Nemours Children’s Health Central Florida Behavioral Health Hub provides free mental health care coordination for children and families along with a list of providers in Central Florida.
- AdventHealth for Children can connect families with mental health providers, and also offers a list of crisis lines families can use.
- NAMI Greater Orlando can help families find mental health care, from addiction services to help with eating disorders. There is a page for free and reduced clinics for mental health.
- Mental Health Association of Central Florida provides mental health counseling, at no cost, to uninsured children, adolescents and their families who may be experiencing mental health struggles.
- Orange County Government provides mobile mental health services for young people through Devereux. Call 211 to be connected.
If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, call 988 to be connected with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Services are available in Spanish and in English, and in American Sign Language or ASL.
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