Our world—and here in the U.S., our nation—has endured another tragedy in last weekend’s assassination attempt and the death or injury of bystanders. You’ve probably heard and seen a lot about it, and details will continue to emerge.

Sadly, this is one more incident in a continuing string that makes many of us pause, reflect, pray, and try to make sense of it all. We can all quickly call to mind recent shootings at schools and shopping centers, natural disasters, war atrocities, riots from social upheaval, terrorist attacks, and on and on. There are more and more events about which we could ask, “Where were you when …?” Maybe the COVID-19 pandemic deserves its own category.

As fathers, many of our thoughts go to protecting our children—physically, emotionally, spiritually, and every other way. Here are six suggestions for helping your children deal with traumatic events:

1. As always, monitor the media.

Your child might be curious to find out all the details, and there are plenty of good and not-so-good sources to find them. Be vigilant about monitoring what your kids see, hear, and read. Graphic images, commentary and speculation can add fuel to a child’s fears and insecurities.

2. Help them see the big picture.

At an age-appropriate level, allow them to follow some events to their conclusion, including the consequences of selfish, reckless, vicious acts. Children need to see that, in time, justice will prevail; those who commit such acts will be brought to justice.

3. Maintain healthy routines.

It’s important to keep up normal activities with your children: eating, reading, goofing around, and bedtime rituals. Help your child find reasons to feel safe and trust again despite the presence of injustices and disasters in the world.

4. Point out the positives.

So often, tragedies and chaos become opportunities for heroes to emerge. If you look for them, you’ll likely find examples of courage, service, selflessness, excellence, sacrifice, and other virtues. Talk about those with your kids. Also, find something positive you can do as a family as a response to the crisis.

5. Continue to check in with your kids.

Each of them will likely process the event differently—in different ways, with different levels of emotion, and at different rates. Be discerning here. You don’t want to keep bringing it up if it’s clear a child has moved on, but you do want to give them ongoing opportunities to describe feelings, concerns and fears related to it.

6. Engage their faith.

Traumatic events can lead all of us to ask questions about deeper, eternal things, and that might be what your kids are doing. Be ready to talk with them on that level. Even if organized faith isn’t part of your lives, they may want to talk about where to find peace and hope, or what they can trust in this world. Maybe you can attend a prayer or memorial service as a family or pray for the individuals and family members affected by the events.

Along with those specifics, here are a few more general positive dad habits to keep in mind:

– Make sure your kids know you love them. Show them lots of love and affirmation. Give hugs. Say “I love you.” Tell them you’re proud of them. Do it a lot—every day.

– Make time with them a priority. Lay aside distractions and less important obligations and make memories with your kids. Don’t take tomorrow for granted.

– Be a good comforter. If your kids learn that you will listen attentively to them and that you’re a reliable source of comfort for skinned knees, broken toys, and other “minor” challenges, they’ll be more likely to rely on you when the bigger ones come along.

– Provide consistent boundaries. Over time, consistent rules and routines become sources of security for your children.

– Monitor what’s going on in their lives. Sure, some parents go too far and become intrusive and overprotective, but we should be aware of our children and their world. Who are their best friends? What struggles are they facing at school? Children draw comfort in a father who is looking out for them.

– Raise world-changers. Remember, your children can make a difference out there—either today or in the future, and in ways you probably can’t even imagine right now. And you can be a big part of equipping them for that.

Dads, even though we can’t be everywhere, see every potential threat, or prepare for every possible outcome, we can give our kids something that’s even better: a sense of protection. They can have security and confidence that, even in a confusing and often cruel world, they don’t have to live paralyzed by fear.

How have you helped your kids process tragic events, either recently or in the past? Share an insight with other dads on our Facebook page.