Ever since I heard of the mindless violence inflicted upon Elementary School children, I have been really angry and sad.
I was wondering how to address the topic with my Elementary School daughter and how to tell her that we will be there for her and that there are horrors in the world inflicted upon the innocent (without alarming her). This article tells us to use an age appropriate mechanism, but my husband and I were still not sure how to go about it.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/12/14/connecticut-school-shooting-what-to-tell-your-kids/
Finally, when we picked her up from School, we asked her in as casual a tone as possible whether anyone told her anything at School. Her answer surprised me. She became defensive and blurted: "But it was not my fault Amma. Nylan was the one talking to me. I was only listening to him, but my teacher thought I was talking and she turned my card over as a warning. Did my teacher tell you she flipped my card over for talking?"
Inspite of the fact that I had cried in outrage while ranting about the whole shooting incident at CT just a few minutes before, I couldn’t help smiling.
"So why did you not tell your teacher that you weren’t talking?" I asked her.
"AMMA! I can’t get him in trouble. I can’t tell-tale on him! So I just took the warning, but in the recess I told him not to talk to me when the teacher was talking." Apparently, the Code of the Elementary School Goers is quite rigid with respect to tell-tales.
As I thanked my stars for the ability to hear such a wonderful tidbit of her life in School, my heart went out to all those families and friends grieving for the loss of these children. The tale of the recess untold, the code of their friendships unraveled. May their souls rest in peace.
May their little souls also guide our misguided policy makers to make a decision that is not only right for the country, but for innocent lives everywhere. I hope this pain will one day be useful.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/12/newtown-and-the-madness-of-guns.html
perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim
(Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you.)
Nourish-n-Cherish 
Well said. Unfortunately crazy psychos will always roam around this earth, it would be nicer if they cannot find weapons to inflict such an horror on innocent lives. SAD!
Every story around this and other children who are mentally ill is so depressing. IT cries for change.
I feel so sad for the poor parents who have lost their kids in this mindless tragedy. There’s too much of easy access to guns – and that’s unlikely to change.
You know I was talking about this the other day with one of my friends. Maybe it is time for mothers to take up this cause – make sure our voices are heard and our families saved. Assure our families that help is on the way.