Psychologists explain how to speak to your children about the Southport stabbings

Psychologists say parents should not shy away from speaking to their children about such horrific events as the Southport knife attack.

While adults may feel a natural instinct to protect youngsters from unpleasant news, two experts say it is important to answer questions they may have and make sure they are supported.

Three children were killed and others critically injured in the incident at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday.

Follow latest: All three children killed in knife attack named

Many details about what happened will not become clear for some time.

In the meantime, Sky News has spoken to two experts in the field of child psychology to understand what children who witnessed the attack may be going through – as well as youngsters elsewhere who may hear about it at school or see it on the news.

Children who witnessed the attack will be deeply affected

Julia Faulconbridge, a consultant clinical psychologist, says the experience of children will vary depending on how close to the incident they were.

There are those who witnessed it directly, she says, those in the local community and also those who hear about what happened indirectly.

Speaking about those who saw the attack first hand, she told Sky News: “They will have witnessed terrifying things and they will have been afraid for their own lives.

“It’s very unlikely that any of those children directly involved will simply recover from that without intervention.”

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Dr Keri Nixon, a consultant forensic psychologist, said these children may experience sleep problems, stress and fear in the aftermath of what they witnessed.

“They are going to need love and support around them but they are probably going to need professional support as well.

“This is something they will never, ever forget. They will need help to in some way learn how to cope with this sense of danger.”

How to talk to your child about the Southport attack

Both psychologists also emphasised the importance of supporting children who weren’t at the scene but may learn about it – in full or in part – from other sources.

“Children ultimately need to feel safe and secure,” Dr Nixon says. “This takes (that) away.”

She suggested that while parents should avoid having the news on at home all the time, they shouldn’t avoid talking to their children if they have queries.

“It they do have questions answer them in child-appropriate ways…

“Just say that this is the most awful thing that has happened, but this is very rare,” she added. Dr Nixon also suggested doing a nice thing with children after any discussion to distract them.

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Ms Faulconbridge said parents feel a natural instinct to protect their children but with the right support children are very resilient.

“Sadly, we can’t make the world a happy, peaceful place for our children, but what we can do is help them become strong enough to handle that,” she said.

Watch The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee on Sky News from 8pm for a special programme from Southport

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