Parents learn how to explain tragedies, like Maddy Middleton, to their kids

It’s been nearly two weeks since the death of 8-year-old Maddy Middleton in Santa Cruz. Since then, some parents are trying to figure out how to talk to their kids about it and keep them safe.

The nonprofit Santa Cruz-based Kidpower organization has been holding workshops for kids and parents. Friday night, the focus was on parents.

“Parents are the most important protectors of children,” said Irene van der Zande, founder and executive director of Kidpower.

“I just want to figure out how to talk to my children,” said Kristen Heady, a mother of young children. She added she wants to know how to explain tragedies like the killing of Maddy.

Friday night, she said she came to the right workshop.

“If a child has not heard about this and is not likely to, there’s no reason to talk about this. (Instead) let’s talk about how to be safe,” van der Zande said, referring to the Middleton case.

But if they do ask about what happened to the 8-year-old, van der Zande said parents can explain “a girl got hurt, and or you might say killed.”

She added parents should stay away from gory details and don’t speculate on what you don’t know.

Another important message they talked about was checking in: making sure you know where your kids are, especially if plans change.

“I had a situation just the other day with my son went over to somebody else’s house and forgot to tell me about it and it’s concerning,” said Mary Anne Rob, a parent and the principal at Bay View Elementary School where the workshop was held.

What’s also concerning van der Zande said is that Middleton’s alleged killer, 15-year-old Adrian Gonzalez, was someone investigators said Middleton trusted.

“What adults need to know (is) that most of the time people who harm kids are not strangers, they’re people they know,” van der Zande said.

The next Kidpower workshop is Friday, Aug. 14 from 4-6 p.m. at Bay View Elementary. For more information CLICK HERE.