Madison’s local NBC affiliate, WMTV/Ch. 15, utilized the expertise of UW–Madison’s Travis Wright for a report on talking to kids about the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Wright is a professor in the School of Education’s Department of Counseling Psychology.
Wright advised parents to “start the conversation, and do so with honesty.”
“Because of all the chaos that’s happening in the world, many of us are having our own strong feelings and our kids are looking at us for how we’re responding,” said Wright.
He said the key is to focus on “responding versus reacting” and to follow your child’s lead.
Wright also noted that with social media, it can be difficult to know what kids have seen or heard. The best strategy, he said, is to just ask them what they know.
“And if you don’t have the answers, tell them you don’t know,” he said.
View the full report at nbc15.com, here.