Talking to your class about the clown craze – 6 tips to help you tackle the issue
Our editorial team made the decision to cover the strange clown craze that’s sweeping the nation right now on this week’s First News front page and some of you may have some questions about that decision. I want to stress that we did not make this decision to scaremonger, but to inform and calm our young readers. First News has always had a responsibility to educate, inform and above all, be truthful. We had a responsibility to cover this story and ensure young people know exactly what is going on. Readers had been in touch with us about encountering these clowns.
The reality is that nearly all children are talking about this right now.
If they haven’t noticed the trend on the internet, or heard it on the news, their friends have spoken to them about it and, no doubt, what they’ve picked up will be an overly dramatised version of the truth that has probably confused or scared them.
Misinformation can be very alarming, so First News’ job is to give children the right information about events in the news – without the sensationalism that much of the media uses.
We believe it is vital that children are armed with truth, knowledge and reassurance to help them understand viral stories like this one and that’s what we’ve done in this week’s issue. By ignoring this story, children would be left to piece together their own version of the truth from multiple, unreliable and adult sources.
Please take the time to read through this week’s cover story with your pupils so that they understand the facts they need to know and understand what they should be doing if they come into contact with one of these clowns.
I wanted to share my top six tips to discussing the crazy clown craze with young people:
- Let them talk to you about it – do not dismiss this, because they may be hiding worry or fear from you. Listen to what they know and what they have heard. It’ll aid you in reassuring them.
- Remind them that this story is in the news because it is out of the ordinary. It is not an everyday occurrence and it is very unlikely that they will ever see one of these clowns, despite what they may be thinking from the media coverage.
- Stress that they should never interact with a clown, if they do happen to see one. They are all sad human beings dressing up for attention. As we said in our cover story, remember one of the very first life lessons: don’t talk to strangers. If children see a clown, they should tell an adult they trust immediately or the police.
- Remind children that this is upsetting adults, too, so they shouldn’t feel embarrassed or worried about talking through their concerns with you.
- Stress that this trend is being called a ‘craze’ for a reason – because it’s just that. As with all crazes, it won’t last. The craze is likely to disappear as soon as it started, particularly because police are arresting people dressed as clowns to stop it happening.
- Children are safe. They have adults in their lives (teachers, parents, guardians etc.) who are in their lives to listen, protect and reassure. Remind them that they can talk to you about anything and that you can help calm their worries.
Our friends at the NSPCC have also provided us with a comment, which may help and reassure. Please take the time to read this:
“People getting dressed us as ‘creepy clowns’ and frightening young people is a very unpleasant phenomenon. Young people should stay well away from them and remember that on this occasion the sad person is inside the suit. And if they do happen to see a ‘creepy clown’ out on the streets or lurking near their school they should immediately tell their parents or the nearest responsible adult and report it to the police. If a child is worried they can call ChildLine on 0800 1111 or get in touch via childline.org.uk.”