But if we think about all the things that can harm people, a (mass shooting) is a very, very improbable event and seeing it on TV nonstop makes it feel more probable but doesn't make it actually more probable.

David Anderegg

Categorized in : Health News

I think the problem is sometimes when adults feel very, very anxious, they tell themselves, 'Oh, as long as my kids are OK, I'm OK,' and so they then start to wonder, 'Are my kids OK?' you feel anxious so you check with your child, 'Do you feel anxious? Do you feel anxious?' Sooner or later, probably sooner, they will start to feel anxious.

This does require some acting on our part and I think acting is fine, because talking to 12-year-olds and saying, 'Oh my God, I'm really freaked out' ... is not appropriate, because kids can't do anything to keep themselves safe and all they can do is feel unsafe.

There's a huge difference ... babies can tell right away, kids start from the earliest infancy being able to read the signals about whether or not the adults around them feel safe.

Kids aren't stupid and they feel anxiety in a room. by David Anderegg

Kids aren't stupid and they feel anxiety in a room.

You get on a plane and you think you are going to crash because you greatly overestimate the number of planes that actually crash.