HOW TO RESPOND IF YOUR CHILD HAS SEEN THE MOST RECENT SUICIDE VIDEO OR OTHER DISTRESSING CONTENT:
We are receiving requests for advice from parents whose children have seen the suicide video that was widely shared across social media platforms last week. One of the most common patterns of online trauma is that a child or young person will revisit the content that has upset them. They may rewatch the video. Or search for other related content. They may feel agitated or restless without being able to explain why. Different children will have very different reactions to what they have seen.
If your child has seen the video (if they have an account on Tik tok, Snapchat or Instagram it is likely that they may have seen it or heard about it) – how have they responded to it? How have you responded as a parent? With so many videos like this circulating – how should you respond? To learn more, join our Facebook Live Event with Cath Knibbs, Child Trauma Psychotherapist and researcher and expert in Online Trauma and Annabel Turner, Director of Cybersafe Scotland on Thursday 24th September 2020 from 7 – 7.45 pm. We will discuss your questions and how to respond to difficult content your child sees online.
Your child will be under pressure to respond to certain videos that do the rounds. Do/don’t watch. Like/don’t like. Comment/don’t comment. Whatever protections you put in place at home, they are likely to see at least some of these videos on a friend’s phone/a phone at school etc. There is an expectation that they will be able to handle having seen the content itself, when they often cannot handle it. We hope this event will help you to support them.
