KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Parents in the Kansas City area and their students are still processing the Texas school shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers.
Many are still weighing if they want to talk about it or not, while also being vulnerable about how some might feel desensitized.
KSHB 41 News caught up with Jeramy Zimmerman, who was picking up their fourth grader from school on Thursday.
“I can’t help but put myself in those other parents’ shoes, and when she was a baby, Sandy Hook happened," Zimmerman said. "And that’s how I felt, this week has been really hard. Everyone thinks their own school is safe and we hope for the best.”
Yotam Haber said he appreciates the effort from his child's school in keeping them safe.
“We are really pleased that we are sending our kids to a school that takes security really seriously,” Haber said. “We think it’s their job to take care of the kids and not have them live in fear.”
Haber said it’s something that sustains him as a parent.
“We’ve left our prized possession in a place all day that’s going to take care of them, that’s all we can hope for,” Haber said.
Still, he admits feeling inured to mass tragedies.
“I remember very strongly feeling the horror of Sandy Hook and that worries me actually, it just feels a part of American life and that’s sad,” he said.
For each family, having conversations on the topic may look different.
“It’s just something we don’t talk about at home,” Haber said.
Other parents want to talk with their kids about the mass shooting but have them lead the way.
“The conversations we’ve had have been minimal but really hard,” Zimmerman said. “I’m trying hard to let her lead that and answer questions if she need them.”
Jack Taylor, a former school resource officer and current Independence Police Department public information officer, says even though they may be hard to talk about it, they are tragedies that are not slowing down.
“I think we need to have those conversations, we need to talk about what’s appropriate conversation to have on social media and in schools,” he said.
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