OUR THANKS TO ROBIN IN NASHVILLE, POLICE CHIEF JOHN DRAKE FOR THAT INTERVIEW. AND CHIEF SOCIAL IMPACT AND DIVERSITY OFFICER AT HEADSPACE WISDOM, POWELL JOINS ME NOW FOR MORE ON HOW TO COPE WITH TRAGEDIES LIKE THIS. WAS. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING ON . I WONDER AT WHAT AGE SHOULD PARENTS START SPEAKING TO THEIR KIDS ABOUT SCHOOL SHOOTINGS? AND GUN VIOLENCE? MY SON IS FOUR AND I DON'T THINK HE KNOWS ABOUT THESE INCIDENTS. AND I WANT HIM TO ENJOY HIS INNOCENCE AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. IS THAT THE RIGHT APPROACH? >> SO I THINK IT'S REALLY HARD TO KNOW WHAT TO DO IN MOMENTS LIKE THIS. SO MY HEART GOES OUT TO ALL OF THE PARENTS TODAY. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS WITH THEIR CHILDREN. I THINK WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT WE DON'T SUGARCOAT WHAT HAS HAPPENED AND THAT WE USE LANGUAGE THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN, AGE APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN, TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAS HAPPENED. IT IS UNLIKELY THAT MANY OF OUR CHILDREN WILL HAVE ESCAPED NEWS ABOUT THIS INCIDENT. AND THE LAST THING WE WANT IS FOR THEM TO FIND OUT THIS INFORMATION FROM SOMEONE ELSE. SO PARENTS CHOOSE A TIME AND A SPACE THAT CALM AND AFFIRMING FOR CHILDREN, AND THEY SHOULD HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM IN LANGUAGE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED. USE FACTUAL INFORMATION, USE TRUTHFUL INFORMATION, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, DON'T TELL OUR CHILDREN MORE THAN THEY NEED TO KNOW. IN THIS MOMENT. WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO CONVEY IS THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE SAFE NOW, THAT WHILE THIS INCIDENT IS TRAGIC AND UPSETTING, THAT RIGHT NOW, IN THIS MOMENT, THEY HAVE THEIR PARENTS AND LOVED ONES AROUND THEM TO SUPPORT AND PROTECT THEM. PROTECT THEM. >> I THINK THAT'S MOST CRITICAL IN THIS MOMENT. AND YOU SAY EIGHT OR OLDER IS USUALLY THE AGE WHERE IT'S APPROPRIATE TO START TALKING TO KIDS ABOUT THIS. AND YOU SAY INITIATE WITH A QUESTION. CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT? >> WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? YES, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. I THINK IT'S OFTEN THE CASE THAT WE START WITH OUR CHILDREN HAVING CONVERSATIONS LIKE THIS BY GIVING THEM INFORMATION WHEN IN FACT WE SHOULD BE ASKING THEM ABOUT HOW THEY'RE FEELING RIGHT NOW. AND THIS MOMENT, GETTING THEM TO TELL US WHAT'S HAPPENING INSIDE OF THEM RIGHT NOW IS PROBABLY THE MOST ESSENTIAL INFORMATION FOR PARENTS TO TAKE AWAY. AND IT WILL GIVE US AN INSIGHT ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE CHILDREN ARE COLLABORATING IN THE AFTERMATH OF THESE INCIDENTS. WE KNOW THAT INCIDENTS LIKE THESE CAN UPSET INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ADULTS. JUST IMAGINE IF YOUR CHILD TRYING TO METABOLIZE THESE INCIDENTS. WE KNOW THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ADULTS CAN EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMATOLOGY THAT IS LIKENED TO POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION. SO WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE THAT OUR CHILDREN RIGHT NOW WHO ARE EXPERIENCING THIS WOULD HAVE SIMILAR SYMPTOMS BUT WOULD HAVE LESS LANGUAGE AND APPARATUS TO DESCRIBE THEM. SO THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO BE WITH THEM, LISTEN TO THEM, SUPPORT THEM. AND AGAIN, EXPLAIN TO THEM IN LANGUAGE THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS HAPPENED FOR CHILDREN THAT ARE YOUNGER, WHO ARE YOUNGER THAN EIGHT YEARS OLD. I THINK THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM WILL LIKELY BE AROUND SYMPTOMS OR FEELINGS OF SAFETY AND WANTING TO ASSURE THEM THAT, AGAIN, ALL AROUND THEM IS STEADY AND SECURE. >> AND WHAT ABOUT WHEN IT'S THE KIDS ASKING YOU THE QUESTIONS? HOW DO WE ANSWER THEM? HONESTLY, WHILE NOT CREATING MORE ANXIETY THAN WE NEED TO ABSOLUTE. THE IMPORTANT THING IS LISTEN TO THE QUESTION THAT'S BEING ASKED. SOMETIMES OUR CHILDREN IN THESE MOMENTS WANT TO KNOW, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHETHER OR NOT THIS INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED IS LIKELY TO OCCUR AGAIN. THAT, TO ME, SEEMS TO BE THE MOST CRITICAL QUESTION. SO THE LANGUAGE THAT WE USE WHEN WE REPLY TO THOSE QUESTIONS FROM OUR CHILDREN NEEDS TO BE SIMPLE, FACTUAL TIMING. AND REASSURING. AGAIN, WHAT IS MOST DISRUPTED IN THIS MOMENT IS A SENSE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY AND ASSURING THAT EACH OF OUR CHILDREN FEEL THAT THEY ARE SAFE AND PROTECTED IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO CONVEY. >> WHEN OUR CHILDREN COME TO US WITH QUESTIONS JUST LIKE THE OTHER DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. IT'S IMPORTANT AGAIN THAT WE ANSWER THE QUESTION AS BEST AS WE CAN AND AS FACTUALLY AS WE CAN. AGAIN, NOT VEERING OFF INTO STORIES, NOT USING LANGUAGE THAT IS THAT IS FLUFFY AND OVERINFLATED, BUT REALLY THAT FACTUALLY AND TRUTHFULLY SPEAKS TO THE INCIDENT. SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED TODAY. PEOPLE WERE HARMED. THOSE PEOPLE ARE LIKELY. THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM THAT WERE HARMED ARE LIKELY TO BE UPSET BY THIS. HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT IT? WHAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU? I THINK THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TO POSE TO OUR CHILDREN. >> SHORT, DIRECT AND CURIOUS. CHIEF TECHNOL