Updated August 29, 2025 at 11:44 AM EDT

This story was originally published on April 24, 2019, and has been updated.

The news can be devastating: Communities are reeling after a mass shooting killed two children and injured 18 people , including three adults and 15 children, at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis this week. That's as the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine continue a near-daily drumbeat of tragic, inexorable headlines.

These events can be incomprehensible for adults — so how do we talk about them with kids?

We spoke with a handful of child development experts about what parents, teachers and other caregivers can say to help kids process all the scary news out there. Here's what they had to say:

Limit exposure to breaking news

"We can control the amount of inf

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