COLUMBUS, Ohio — It can be difficult to talk to your kids about school shootings, but one central Ohio mother is helping with that

What You Need To Know

  • Casey Chapman has serious conversations with her kids about school shootings in order to keep them safe at school

  • Chapman's kids are in first, fourth and sixth grade in the Gahanna school system

  • Chapman believes in order to enact change with regards to gun violence in schools, the community needs to work together

Ever since her oldest son was born in 2012, when the Sandy Hook school shooting happened, she has worried about her kids’ safety at school. 

“Thinking for kind of the first time since become a mom, becoming a mother. If anything happened to this tiny little person, I would just want to die. I, I don’t know how I would go on,” Casey Chapman said.  

Her kids are in first, fourth and sixth grade in the Gahanna school system. Thinking about the hundreds of parents across the country who have experienced their child being involved in a school shooting, she has those tough conversations now with her kids to make sure they are prepared. 

“What would you do? If you if you see a friend who’s struggling, if you hear of a threat, what do you do if there is an active shooter situation at school or while you’re out in public, what are some things that you should do? With my littler ones, it’s harder because they’re not scared. I don’t want them to be scared,” Chapman said.   

Although she has those conversations, she tells me she’s a little worried they don’t understand the gravity of the situation. 

“The terrible thing and the good thing about this being so commonplace is that these children have been doing active shooter drills since they were in preschool. So to them, it’s no more scary than when they do a fire drill or a tornado drill at school. It’s so commonplace,” said Chapman. 

Cleveland clinic psychologist, dr. Susan Albers, says it’s normal for parents to feel scared, worried and anxious in the wake of the news of a school shooting. But before they have the conversation with their kids, parents need to remain calm. 

“Before you talk with your child, take a moment to regulate your own feelings. This is because children absorb our emotions. And if you remain calm, they will remain calm. So take a few moments to process the information, talk with other parents, check in with your own school to help to ground you before having this difficult conversation,” Albers said.   

And for Casey Chapman, she believes in order for change to happen, the community needs to work together. 

“I don’t think there’s any parent out there who this hasn’t crossed their mind. I think sometimes it’s hard to face. I think these are important conversations to have and to have within our community,” Chapman said.