We looked at our then 6 and 9-year old sons and told them about Columbine - in a way appropriate to their ages. We told them it would never happen to them but just in case…there were some things we wanted them to know. We felt like it was important to tell them that if they ever heard something that sounded like gunshots at school - NOT to look around, just hide. At school. Gunshots.
We also told them to be kind. Not to pile on the different kids. Not to help create this kind of problem.
I still can’t believe we talked to our young kids about guns in school. In school. Sort of made a mockery of those “Safe Haven” signs they passed every day on the way in.
I hope the Columbine survivors have found some kind of peace in their lives. I hope the rest of us have learned to be kind and more forgiving of the ones who are different. The ones who don’t fit in.
I hope.