this is so amazingly painful

[reeay]

This is a difficult catalyst to understand and accept... that the other-self could be so senseless, and the enormity of the trauma/pain/sadness/anger etc., that parents and children now have to live with. I think it is possible that we could be vicariously traumatized when listening to the radio and watching TV coverage of the news.

It's really good to talk about personal reactions/experiences around tragedies immediately after something happens. Children processed these experiences much faster than adults during crisis (possibly due to smaller 'baggage' size of children compared to adults). E.g., talking with family members about their experience and use artistic expression (esp for children) to process this incident. Children also pick up on the adults' fears and other emotions, and would feel unsure as to how to process this. So it's good to do something together (play games, talk, draw, etc.,) and allow them to give words to their own feelings... and help them to sooth themselves - particularly on issue of how the adults are reacting to this incident (they need reassurance you're OK and they are OK).