Helping Kids Make Sense of the Sea World Tragedy

Opinion by Dr Gwenn

Wednesday’s death of Dawn Brancheau at Sea World is truly an unthinkable tragedy. It’s one of those events that reminds us that some family entertainment that we take for granted is much more involved than we want to admit and puts many highly trained, dedicated and good-hearted people at risk each and every day.

Given children’s love for orcas, and Shamu in particular, this story is likely to have an impact on most children, regardless of age. In my mind, there are two big issues to consider when helping your children process this story: the media coverage itself and the issues around the orca, Tilly.

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