Milwaukee nonprofit offers advice for parents on how to talk to kids about tragedy

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- We've seen a lot of tragedy involving kids in recent days, so we went to nonprofit Wellpoint Care Network to find out how parents should talk to their own kids when they have questions about these incidents.

"Be truthful and transparent, but at a level that they can understand," said Carey Jacobsen, director of clinical services.

She says to answer a 7-year-old's questions the way a 7-year-old would understand, and a teenager's questions the way a teenager would understand. 

We also asked about what to say to kids when they ask why they can't play outside. 

"We can't really explain why this happened; it doesn't necessarily make sense. There's no logical reason for it. So, parents can again, answer the question. Right now, we're just being a little more careful, we're being safe inside. Give it some time or set up some different options."

Jacobsen says kids can pick up when their parents feel anxious or stressed, so reassuring them that the parents will always do everything they can do keep them safe can be important.