It can often be very difficult for children to comprehend events such as last night's tragic attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.
What is the best way for parents to discuss the subject with their children?
Child psychologist David Carey gave his advice. He said that, while the vast majority of children will not suffer any psychological stress, "the ones most at risk are those who may have been directly or indirectly involved."
The most important thing, according to David, is for parents not to be alarmist. He suggests allowing the child to initiate the conversation, rather than forcing it yourself. Their feelings and reactions should also be normalised, and they should be prevented from "repetitively watching news broadcasts" of the event.
Security analyst Dr. Tom Clonan spoke about the difficulty in coming to terms with an attack that targeted children. He said, "We need to be able to have a mature and open discussion about it."
He also talked about how Ireland should prepare for the possibility of a terror attack: "We can't be the only population in Europe that doesn't understand the threat or doesn't know what to do in the event of a threat."
