NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Talking about a situation as tragic as the shooting at The Covenant School with your young ones can be difficult.
"There were a lot of ambulances and police cars," said Dr. Katie Herrington, remembering Monday morning.
"The texts and the phone calls started coming," added licensed clinical social worker Lina Roberts.
"Something really, really major is going on just up the street," said Herrington.
As children were reunited with their parents after the shooting, Herrington and Roberts were there to help as clinical child psychologists.
Their Green Hills Family Psych is only a mile away from The Covenant School.
"Words do not describe what that experience was like," said Herrington. "One of the hard things to navigate is; how do we support our young kids in this?"
"Tomorrow, there will be a fair amount of kids questioning if they should go to school," said Roberts. "If there's a tangible object small kids can take or a note from a parent, something they can hold onto, I think that would be very comforting and nurturing for them. As much as you can keep a routine that's comforting and nurturing, I think that would be a good step."
"Allow your children a safe place to feel without over-exaggerating or minimizing what they're feeling," said Herrington. "It is okay for your kids to see you cry. It is okay for them to see you angry or shaken up. Always follow that up with 'we are together as a family. I am here. You can be scared, and I am with you.' I want Nashville to know we are a city of love, and we are going to care for the families at The Covenant School. We are going to care for the communities. I want them to know that this isn't the end of the story."
