New Orleans (WGNO) – All too often lately, parents find themselves having to explain violence to their children.

Sara Cusimano says her daughter isn’t afraid of monsters under her bed, ghosts or the boogeyman but she is scared to death of something else.

“She is scared of murderers. She was terrified for me to even come out today because it’s too real for them, and she’s only eight years old.”

Director of The Parenting Center at Children’s Hospital, Barbara LeBlanc, says discussions should change according to age.

“Every age doesn’t need all the information. And, before you start giving information, you need to listen, you need to ask what they’ve heard, what they understand. Certainly from age eight and up they’re going to have some opinions about it. Check in with them. What do you think about this? What do you think we ought to do? Help them feel some sense of efficacy or how they might be able to help.”

LeBlanc also says that it’s important to sort out your own feelings first—which can be especially difficult when tragedy strikes a movie theater, close to home.

“It makes it harder to say, ‘Oh that was in New York. Look how far away that was. Oh, that was in Afghanistan. Look how far away that was,” says LeBlanc.

Victoria Coy is the Gulf Coast Organizing Manager of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, a grassroots campaign with more than two-million members across the country who say they are pro-Second Amendment, but want stricter regulations when it comes to gun ownership.

Coy says she is heartbroken by the thought that Lafayette, Louisiana is forever scarred.

“Aurora, Newtown, Charleston, Chattanooga and then Lafayette, and it was really shocking because Lafayette is a name I know so well. It’s where my friends are, and it will forever be on that list.”

Her advice for parents?

“Be open, be honest, and also, demand better. We demand that this is not our new normal.”

The group’s long term goal: to work with lawmakers and gun owners to create a new “new” normal for the next generation.

Click here for more advice about discussing news events with young children.

Click here for more tips from the National Association of School Psychologists.