outside Amber Hagerman school pink ribbons
shiver in a cold wind flags fly at half staff
and students try to cope with a tragedy that
has shattered their world schoolmates describe
the feeling at Berry Elementary it's pretty sad
are you scared sort of really scary
What have you thought?
I thought that somebody would probably take me someday.
When I told her this morning she cried in bed
for a while,
I thought it would be best for her to come to school
and be with her friends for some support.
Experts in child psychology say when violence
like this
invades a child's world, it can be pretty devastating,
and there are several things parents should know
in dealing with their child.
Get them to talk about it, reassure them,
allow the child to talk about their feelings.
Dr. Peter Lehman at UT Arlington School of
Social Work says parents need to tell kids the truth.
They can give it to them in bits and pieces,
they can give it to them in the whole story,
but give them the information, give them the facts.
The kids' emotions could be seen in the artwork
they drew today, A Farewell to Amber.
A team of counselors was brought in to talk to kids.
They say besides a little crying and some sad
faces, they are coping.
They had wonderful, positive thoughts about
their classmate, and they really did very well.
We did a lot of talking, like I said, because
they needed to talk.
But they say this is something kids may
remember for quite a while.
Brian Mylar, Texas News 5.