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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFILE – Young people use their phones to view social media in Sydney on Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo\/Rick Rycroft, File)<\/p>\n
Experts suggest that grownups who care about children start by setting aside matters of politics and public policy \u2014 like the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections and the debate over capital punishment. Focus instead on how witnessing someone\u2019s death by firing squad might land with young viewers \u2014 and how to best to reassure and protect them.<\/p>\n
Here are some guidelines that might help.<\/p>\n
Keep empathy for kids in mind \u2014 and facts at hand<\/p>\n
Mis- and disinformation reach children, too. It\u2019s important for parents to have credibility with them, especially because their real, unspoken question might be: Are we safe? Have in hand some basic facts about the case and state them gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be easier to have a position, share your family\u2019s values, and discuss things with a potentially overwhelmed child once you\u2019ve taken the time to gather accurate, up-to-date info and assess your child\u2019s needs,\u201d according to Common Sense Media.<\/p>\n
Trump approved Hasan\u2019s execution by firing squad Dec. 3 at Fort Hood. A few days later, the Pentagon announced the event would be livestreamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to understand that there\u2019s serious consequences for these types of things,\u201d Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Real America\u2019s Voice, a conservative outlet.<\/p>\n
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people there in 2009 when he walked into a medical building where soldiers were getting checkups and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun. He said it was an effort to stop them from going to Afghanistan and killing his fellow Muslims. He made almost no effort to defend himself at trial. The U.S. military has not carried out the death penalty since 1961.<\/p>\n
The last widely recognized public execution took place on Aug. 14, 1936. Kentucky, the last state to permit them, outlawed the practice in 1938.<\/p>\n
Stay updated on the plans<\/p>\n
Also, experts suggest, parents should stay updated on how a livestreamed execution would unfold. Many questions remained unanswered, such as whether the moment of death and its aftermath will be shown, whether any age restrictions will apply, and whether there will be a broadcast delay or a threshold for stopping the feed.<\/p>\n
Be informed about the technology involved. While the government often uses YouTube to carry its livestreams, including those embedded within government websites, YouTube prohibits content that is \u201cviolent or gory\u201d and \u201cintended to shock or disgust viewers,\u201d and doesn\u2019t allow livestreams that show someone holding, handling or transporting a firearm.<\/p>\n
YouTube does make exceptions in select cases for content it deems to be in an educational, documentary, scientific or artistic context or that it determines to be in the public\u2019s interest. In such cases, In such cases, the content may be age-restricted. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding how its policies relate to the execution.<\/p>\n
But the danger to kids spills beyond the live broadcast to unexpected exposure on social media in the form of memes, for example.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear whether the Trump administration is considering children in its decision-making. Emails over two days asking White House spokespeople for thoughts from the president and first lady Melania Trump thoughts on the prospect of children seeing the execution went unanswered. Trump said that he\u2019ll soon make a decision on the plan to livestream the event.<\/p>\n
Assume kids will at least hear about the execution, if not see it<\/p>\n
From the old-fashioned grapevine to social media, grisly news has a way of reaching school-aged children, experts agree. Consider their need for calm and age-appropriate guidance, they suggest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith young kids, parents should keep it short and focus on reassurance over explaining the events,\u201d said Jill Murphy, chief content officer at Common Sense Media, which advises parents on entertainment and technology. \u201cReassure them that they are safe. With teens, ask honestly what they have heard first, then ask whether they need to watch it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Remember you are your child\u2019s parent, not their friend \u2014 and don\u2019t overexplain, advises Dr. David Rosenberg, chair of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan. Answer the questions children ask, and don\u2019t be afraid to assert parental authority by, for example, restricting or banning a child\u2019s access to the footage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay to say, \u2018I don\u2019t have all the answers. But here\u2019s what we know, you\u2019re safe, you\u2019re secure, this is what we believe,\u2019\u201d Rosenberg said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere parents get into trouble is when they talk too much, and they usually do that because they\u2019re anxious and insecure,\u201d he added. \u201cWhat makes a child feel safest, or an adolescent, is can I count on my parents to be calm in challenging situations and give me the information I need?\u201d<\/p>\n
Choosing to watch the footage, one physician said, doesn\u2019t necessarily indicate a child is psychologically ready to do so.<\/p>\n
Timothy Lesaca, a Pittsburgh-area psychiatrist, cited a series of studies showing that repeatedly watching footage of events like the Boston Marathon bombings, at least part of an ISIS beheading video and the Oklahoma City bombing can be linked to post traumatic stress, if not PTSD, in adults and children. He argues that making Hasan\u2019s execution public is a medical and public health issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cOngoing anxiety, trouble sleeping or problems with daily life should be taken seriously,\u201d Lesaca wrote in KevinMD.com, an online publication by physicians.<\/p>\n
Watch how this event interacts with existing conditions<\/p>\n
The people most at risk of negative long-term effects are those who already have clinical depression or anxiety, or who have already been exposed to other traumatic situations, Rosenberg said. That\u2019s because repeat exposure to trauma can cause cumulative damage.<\/p>\n
The part of the brain that handles executive decision-making, emotional regulation, impulsivity and empathy doesn\u2019t finish developing until around age 24, and so parents should consider having proactive conversations even with their older children who may be away at college or living on their own, Rosenberg said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to at least offer help in these circumstances to be the leaders, to be the decision-makers, to at least help them make informed decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press journalist Kaitlyn Huamani contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is not an article about politics, capital punishment or whether the Fort Hood shooter deserves to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":931203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-931202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/931203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}