There Will Be Police at the Schools Tomorrow

There Will Be Police at the Schools Tomorrow

….And I don’t like it. 

If there is anything I’ve learned from having a naturally anxious child, it is to always keep things “normal” during a crisis or tragedy, otherwise you open the door for that thing to become the focus.  Out of the ordinary things bring not only questions, but very often fear.  As adults, we react that way, but we have better coping mechanisms.  That fear and anxiety can completely overwhelm a child.

It is not being announced in the media, but those officers will be there for an hour a day.  An hour.  I’m guessing at drop off time when they will be most visible to parents.   So…adults will be placated thinking we have some control over the random evil in the world, but our kids will be sitting there going “Why the heck are there police here?”  And if they’ve heard ANY little bit of the current events over the weekend, their next thought will be “Mom, take me home!”

I understand this tragedy scares parents.  It scares me.  But the Spock side of me tells me that the car I put my child in each day is more likely to be the cause of his death than a school intruder, and I don’t have a police escort around my vehicle to keep anyone else from getting in an accident with me.  Nor do I discuss the possibility of car crashes each time we get in, or discuss plans on what to do if we are in one.  If I did, I’d be thought of as a nutcase parent, and people would be right.

The events that occurred are very sad and scary.  It’s understandable that people want to do what they can to try to insulate their lives from such a thing.  Sometimes though, I think we need to step back and really figure out the underlying reasons things occur instead of just trying to put patches on to make things appear OK.

I read a blog today about mental illness, its stigmas, and ineffective ways of coping with it.  I’ve worked in this field, and it was spot on.  If you really want to help prevent tragedies like this, help others in society, and maybe even your own kids or family members, shift your focus.  Learn about it, and help to advocate for better treatment options.

Getting ready to deal with the effects of my child having to face effects of this tragedy tomorrow, because I have no control over what happens at school.  He goes to a charter school and not sure if they will also have police, but even if not, he’ll have to hear things from other kids whose parents don’t feel the same as me about shielding them from the news.  Like I said, my kid is naturally anxious, this won’t be a good thing.

And that’s why they have wine.