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For starters, experts suggest, get the kids back into school. Routines matter in the raw aftermath of trauma.

Child health experts say the shooting that killed a mother and wounded several children at the close of Kansas City鈥檚 celebration of the Chiefs鈥� latest championship likely left kids traumatized. Whether they were near Union Station or, for some, just hearing the news.

Schools quickly made social workers and counselors available Thursday and put out advice to parents on how to help children return to a sense of normalcy and safety.

Some children, the experts say, need to talk about their concerns. That, the experts say, needs to be balanced against dwelling too much on what happened or trying to force conversations that could go wrong.

Wednesday鈥檚 violence came after clinicians saw a troubling mental health hangover from the pandemic.

鈥淩ates of anxiety and depression doubled for young people,鈥� said Dr. Shayla Sullivant, a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Children鈥檚 Mercy Hospital. 鈥淣ow we have more kids that have experienced trauma.鈥�

Multiple school districts told The Beacon that they鈥檙e turning to what鈥檚 familiar 鈥� like going right back to school 鈥� to help restore calm after a calamity.

When disaster strikes, 鈥渋t comes from a place that we didn鈥檛 expect, and we don鈥檛 know how to deal with that,鈥� said David Smith, a spokesperson for the Shawnee Mission School District. 鈥淏eing able to connect people, kids, to the familiar, to the routine, can be helpful and give them a comfort that the world is returning to the world that they know and (where) they feel safe.鈥�

Adults matter, too. Parents and teachers, Smith said, need to recognize and seek support for their own distress 鈥渋n order for us to be there for our kids.鈥�

The shooting marked a 鈥渃ommunity-level trauma,鈥� said Damon Daniel, president of the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, even in a city that saw a record 182 homicides last year.

鈥淲e live in a city where we鈥檙e not strangers to violence,鈥� he said.

His group worked with prosecutors and other organizations to offer counseling on Thursday at the Kansas City United Church of Christ in Brookside. He said it鈥檚 time to talk with professionals and not to lean on isolation, substance abuse or more violence to cope.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very complex problem. It鈥檚 not one solution,鈥� Daniel said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no silver bullet to this.鈥�

For starters, public places might never feel the same to some people after the Union Station shooting. Chris Williams, a counselor with Heartland Therapy Connection, said teenagers and young adults might be particularly damaged by the trauma.

鈥淭here are no public places they can look at and be, like, 鈥業鈥檓 safe here,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淢ore and more children are on guard, looking out.鈥�

He said survivors can experience extreme post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, such as paranoia or fear of loud noises, and will look to adults for assurance.

鈥淲e鈥檙e losing that ability to tell them it鈥檚 gonna be OK,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭here are no safe spaces.鈥�

Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Collier emailed parents urging them to address the trauma directly.

鈥淲hile our instinct may be to shield them from the harsh realities of the world,鈥� she wrote, 鈥渋t鈥檚 essential to proactively address their concerns, especially with our older students who are more likely to seek information independently.鈥�

The district was still sorting out Thursday how many students were close to the shooting even as it suggested parents limit their children鈥檚 exposure to news coverage.

Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools also enlisted counselors and social workers and told parents that their kids need someone to turn to.

鈥淧eople deal with pain and tragedy differently,鈥� district spokesperson Edwin Birch said. 鈥淭he main thing is just being available.鈥�

At Wichita鈥檚 USD 259, the largest school district in Kansas, administrators strove to return to the routine.

鈥淐hildren are pretty quick to move on to the next thing,鈥� said Stephanie Anderson, who works in the district鈥檚 counseling services. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 dwell on stuff like this, unless they hear adults dwelling on it.鈥�

That, she said, needs to be paired with candor.

鈥�(Don鈥檛) sugarcoat it or don鈥檛 create fear,鈥� Anderson said.

She and other experts suggest parents look for routines breaking down in the aftermath of the Super Bowl parade. Is your child having trouble sleeping? Has their appetite dwindled? Are they crankier than usual?

An adult鈥檚 ear can prove especially helpful, said , a clinical psychologist specializing in children and adolescents at Laurel School鈥檚 Center for Research on Girls in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

She said trusted adults 鈥� family, mental health professionals, school staff 鈥� need to be available. Cordiano said younger children may prefer to process their emotions about the parade shooting through art, and older children will need someone to confide in.

鈥淲hen they have those places to talk,鈥� Cordiano said, 鈥渋t can help them cope.鈥�

The more comfortable kids feel to talk, she said, the better to keep them grounded and feeling safe.

鈥淲hen we shut it down,鈥� she said, 鈥渋t makes it too big or scary.鈥�

Yet exposure to leaves some psyches damaged for a lifetime. Starsky Wilson, president of the left-leaning Children鈥檚 Defense Fund, said gun violence can heighten children鈥檚 risk of abusing drugs and alcohol or weigh them down with depression and anxiety.

鈥淭he normalization of gun violence in society can desensitize children to the impact of violence and contribute to a sense of helplessness or resignation about the problem,鈥� he said in an email to The Beacon.

Wilson said, in turn, that can make it harder to feel secure, form relationships or thrive in school.

鈥淲hen exposed to violence,鈥� he wrote, 鈥渟chool-aged children tend to exhibit lower academic grades and increased absenteeism.鈥�

This story was compiled by Scott Canon based on staff reporting. Suzanne King contributed.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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