Advice for parents dealing with school threats

More schools in the state have upped security amid possible threats.

Experts say they have to be taken seriously by law enforcement. But even if they turn out to be unfounded, they can still have an impact.

From North Haven to Wethersfield to New Haven, these were just some of the latest districts dealing with possible safety concerns at schools.

“It does take a toll on our kids. Some students have not known anything other than these kinds of incidents,” Fran Rabinowitz, Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, said.

This week, there have also been concerning threats or messages at schools in Milford, Meriden and West Haven.

Multiple schools where students might be worried, especially if they already struggle with some anxiety.

“Those are conversations you might want to have in a more open-ended way, asking your young person what their concerns might be, or what their worries might be,” Dr. Laura Saunders, a Hartford HealthCare psychologist, said.

In some cases, the person making the threat is a student and Saunders said it’s important for parents to remind kids about the potential consequences of their actions, especially online.

“Those words do have meaning. And to be very careful what you do and say on social media, because it can come back and be considered a crime,” Saunders said.

The doctor said threats do need to be taken seriously by authorities whose job it is to investigate.

And she suggests – as scary as the situation can be – that parents try not to overreact.

“That as parents, we need to have some measure of trust in our school administrators and in our, you know, police and firefighters that their job is to protect us and so not to just swoop in,” Saunders said.

The consequences of making a threat can be pretty severe. Several students in the state have already been arrested since the beginning of the school year.