Sometimes Terrorists do Bad Things: How to Talk to Kids About Terrorism

By Richard Wallace Klomp

It can be difficult for an adult to try to understand seemingly-senseless acts of terrorism that sometimes disrupt the normal flow of life. Imagine how much harder it can be for a child to try to deal with this scary new reality. It’s not clear to them what they do and do not need to worry about since they have a limited understanding of how the world works.
The author assumes that many concerned adults will welcome some pointers about what to say and how to say it in a way that’s likely to reassure rather than frighten a child. None of us wants to present too much information about terrorists in an insensitive way to a child we care about. Factors like the maturity, previous exposure to traumatic events, temperament, social support, resilience (the ability to withstand, recover and grow in the face of stressors or changing demands) and of course age of a child should be considered before having a heart-to-heart talk with them about terrorism.
The author readily acknowledges that each child is unique. That’s why he encourages adults to carefully ponder how their child has responded to shocking news in the past or is likely to react to a tough topic in the future. There are several key ideas that many mental health experts and relevant organizations suggest should be integrated into such a sensitive discussion.
For example, it can be difficult if not impossible to keep a child from hearing or seeing anything about a major domestic or international terrorist incident. However, some children might not realize that a video segment of a terrorist attack that is replayed several times does not represent several new attacks. And because those shocking images and sounds may continue to echo in a child’s mind, most experts agree that reducing a child’s exposure to media coverage of a tragic event probably is a good idea.
In this book, the author shares a simple but engaging story about a likeable boy who is unsettled by media coverage of a local terrorist event. Through interactions with his mother, a trusted teacher, a neighbor and others, he learns how unlikely it is that his family would be directly damaged by a terrorist incident. He also learns about the layers of protection civilized society tries to weave around children to keep them safe.
He encounters individuals with different ideas about immediate and severe retaliation against terrorists. He also learns that several famous leaders and scholars were not so quick to pass judgment or propose vengeance. This book is careful not to tell anybody what to think. It does provide information and ideas that can help shape children’s thought processes in an effort to help reduce unnecessary anxiety.
There are multiple warnings in the book for adults who feel the need to initiate some kind of factual conversation about terrorism with a child. It is important for them to be careful not to introduce more information than the child is likely to be able to process at that time. Most experts agree that it’s important to be honest without overloading a child with details beyond their ability to absorb without becoming even more anxious. This could be referred to as age-appropriate interaction. This book encourages asking a child what they have heard or seen to help determine how worried they are about a recent terrorist incident. Then the adult is in a better position to answer the specific questions the child actually has without burdening them with unnecessary or potentially-alarming details.
At the end of the story, there are links to respected references for adults who would like to research this topic further. And, to provide a way for a child to express fears or frustrations they have, one copy of this eBook may be printed so a child can draw, color, paint or write their feeling or concerns in their own personal journal! The author hopes both you and the child you care about will benefit from this semi-interactive feature of this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Wallace Klomp
• Release date: Oct 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370703074

Richard Wallace Klomp

Richard (Rick) Wallace Klomp is a seasoned Mental Health Professional who is committed to helping children deal with challenging and potentially-painful situations that can arise in their lives. As a board-certified, Licensed Professional Counselor, Rick has one Masters degree in Organizational Behavior and a second Masters degree in Community Counseling (which actually focused on helping individuals change.) He is a proactive Behavioral Scientist who has worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2001. He also is an Adult Educator & Organizational Development leader with government, health care, private practice, and consulting experience who adds value as a collaborative change agent. He has demonstrated proficiency at establishing rapport with diverse individuals and groups to facilitate development of relevant skills, knowledge & attitudes necessary to improve wellness, resilience & performance. Professionally he has leadership, listening, collaborating, teaching, culture change, team-building, coaching/counseling, training, conflict resolution and diversity management skills. He also has experience counseling adults who were molested as children and has completed specialized training in the use of Prolonged Exposure Therapy to treat PTSD. His writing skills were honed when he received his Bachelors degree in Communications with an emphasis in Print Journalism. In his work with Smashwords, he integrates his passion for protecting children with his considerable experience in counseling and psychology to produce books that adults can use to facilitate productive conversations about tricky topics with children who are important to them.

Book preview

Sometimes Terrorists do Bad Things:

How to Talk to Kids About Terrorism

by Richard Wallace Klomp, MOB, MS, LPC, BCPC

Atlanta, Georgia. USA

Richard Wallace Klomp, Bachelor of Arts (Communications)

Master of Organizational Behavior

Master of Science (Community Counseling)

Licensed Professional Counselor

Board Certified Professional Counselor

A Behavioral Scientist and Counselor, has worked at the CDC since 2001

Webpage:Helpu2heal.com

Copyright © 2017 by Richard Wallace Klomp

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except for the printing of one hardcopy of the book by the individual who purchased an electronic copy, without the written permission of the author, except for use in a legitimate literary review or where permitted by law.

Characters in this book are fictional and were created by the imagination of the author to illustrate challenges, interactions and possible coping strategies and in no way, shape or form do they represent real individuals. Any resemblance they may have to specific, actual people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Produced in the United States of America

First printing, e-book

ISBN 9781370703074

Table of Contents

Foreword

A Suggestion (to adults)

Dedication (for adults)

Note to Children

Acknowledgements (for adults)

The Story

Some Potentially-Relevant References

My Very Own Journal (Pages)

Foreword

Each title in this expanding collection of children's books is intended to help youngsters between the ages of about seven and ten begin to deal with one of the major challenges a person may encounter as he or she attempts to grow up.

The series began in response to the author's struggle to make sense of the passing of both parents, the sudden death of a loving sister, unexpected unemployment, a spouse's cancer scare and his personal battle with cancer. It became clear that as difficult as it can be for an adult to develop healthy coping mechanisms to deal with stressors and potentially-traumatizing situations, it can be even more troublesome for children to make adjustments in response to unexpected, unwanted changes in their environments or in their own lives.

Important Note and Warning to Adult Readers: The simple, straightforward approach of this book is not intended to trivialize the seriousness of potentially-painful events. As a seasoned counselor and parent of four sensitive children, the author attempts to shed some light on topics that have tended to remain in too much darkness. Rather than limiting input from family, friends and when necessary, trained, skilled and caring counselors, this children's book is designed