I know I'd hold the child very close to me a lot in the next few days or even weeks. I'd talk to him (I have two grown sons, so I'll use that as my default) and try to explain in terms I think he'd understand.

But in reality, I have no idea what I'd really do.

When 9/11 happened my older son was away in college, on the west coast. The younger son was a freshman in high school in the midwest. I was not sure, when I picked him up from school that day, if he'd have heard what had happened. I was thinking back to the many years ago when I was in high school and there were no TVs. But his school did have TVs, and they learned what happened as quickly as anyone. But he was in high school, not early elementary, and we were over a thousand miles away from what happened in NYC and DC and Pennsylvania.

I am not sure you can ever really explain this kind of thing to a young child.

But what about those 1st graders who were in the closet when their teacher was shot. God that is so awful.

will find the right words.

I would tell her the world is not made of people like that.

But I'd be watching them closely for any signs of stress or fear that it might generate, and if it seemed it was going to be a problem I'd enroll them elsewhere. I'd also take advantage of any assessment and counseling services available for the children, or at least listen to their recommendations for dealing with it.

My child would never step foot in that building again. I just wouldn't make her re-live that day over and over.

They should close that school. Bulldoze it.

The memories are just too horrid.

I have been wondering what the plan will be with the building. I don't imagine that anyone will want to go back there. As adult, I wouldn't want to go back. Kids are much more resilient however. My understanding is that some of these kids actually saw it and were really close to others that didn't make it. That would be tougher to handle. These kids are traumatized. I am imagining that they will have night terrors and may find it tough to go anywhere. I just don't think sending them back to the same building is a good thing to do.