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Reading 2 mins.
in collaboration with
Johanna Rozenblum (clinical psychologist)
Medical validation:
January 10, 2023
On Monday and Tuesday, around twenty French schools were evacuated following threats of bomb attacks. How to support your child in the face of this traumatic event? The answer of Dr. Johanna Rozenblum, clinical psychologist.
Earlier this week, thousands of students had to leave their schools following threats of bombings or explosives made on digital workspaces (ENT). A shock for teenagers, but also for parents.
Twenty schools evacuated
“Everywhere in France, high schools are the recipients of emails threatening attacks on ENT“, confirms a police source to France 3.
Indeed, according to the Ministry of National Education, nearly “about twenty establishments (middle and high schools) were affected in mainland France by these messages carrying threats of attacks, mainly in the Lille academy, and to a lesser extent in those of Créteil, Grenoble, Versailles, Normandy and Lyon“.
Disturbing messages were also spotted”by parents on WhatsApp“, or “Snapchat“, adds the ministry.
Since then, an investigationfor death threats and breaches of an automated data processing system” was opened in Paris. The investigations around this dark affair were entrusted to the Central Office for the Fight against Crime linked to Information and Communication Technologies (OCLCTIC), according to BFMTV.
Spot the signs of traumatic sequelae
If justice must take its course, the facts remain traumatic. How to support these teenagers? What attitude should you adopt as a parent when faced with this type of event?
For Dr. Johanna Rozenblum, clinical psychologist, we must show “listening and caring” towards the child, and above all not to neglect its potential traumatic sequelae.
“Traumatic symptoms can appear over time and develop into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Specifically, if after a few weeks or months, the adolescent suffers from stress, irritability, sleep disorders, nightmares, hypervigilance, flashbacks or simply remains frozen in the traumatic event , he must be taken to consult. If it is difficult to recognize your child or adolescent – that he becomes morose, sad, loses vitality – this should also alert you.”
The expert recalls in this respect that a consultation with a health professional is important because the child “can hide fears from family“.
Parents may also need help
Faced with these threats of bomb attacks, many parents had to fear for the lives of their children… and could not “digest” the situation.
“In this case, the parent may need a little help – by going to counselling. The most important ? The parent’s fear must not take hold and circulate at home”concludes Dr. Rozenblum.