Children are being increasingly exposed to violence. What’s the impact?

“Caroline was having a hard time getting her daughter to go to school. The night before, her daughter saw the news about a terrorist bombing that had occurred that day where several children and adults were killed and schools were immediately closed.

“Her daughter had a difficult time sleeping and was refusing to eat her breakfast. When Caroline asked her daughter what was wrong, she replied in a hushed tone,

“I’m scared mommy. If I go to school, will somebody come in and shoot me? I don’t want to die.”

“As researchers and clinicians who have studied the problem of violence over the past three decades, we have witnessed a steady increase in levels of children’s exposure to violence and its damaging effect on their mental health.

“How does this exposure to violence affect children and adolescents – especially their mental health? And how should we handle the increased fear and insecurity that results from such events?”

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