Today is the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting, and school kids up here in St. Cloud are taking part in this walkout. There's a few things you should talk to them about.

This is the second planned school walkout since March 14th, and it's in the name of gun control, where students are making a stand against the increased numbers of school shootings to get the attention of lawmakers to see a change.

Many of our kids are feeling peer pressure today to walk out of school at 10am this morning, but it's our responsibility, as parents, to make sure they understand what the reason is for the walkout and what they could face for being part of this today.

Not every student plans to walk out of school today. This is a stance of political nature, and many kids just don't want to be part of that. This is not supported by our schools and they DO plan to hand out punishment for those that leave school today.

If your student is involved with sports or after-school academics, they may not be allowed to participate again. Yes, your baseball star could lose their place on the team. I can't imagine our schools haven't had discussions with students about this, but it might be good to reiterate how important it is to understand this.

Your child might feel very strong about the school gun safety topic and really want to participate, and that's OK too. Our kids are smart and this isn't the first school walkout in history obviously. All parents worry daily about hearing of another school shooting, and something DOES need to be done. If your kid understands that they are part of a big picture and is totally fine with the repercussions they face personally, then it might just be fine to let them have their voice.

It's going to be a little crazy around our central Minnesota schools today, with many staff members doing what they can to make this walkout at least safe. Keep that in mind if you are planning to be near our schools today around 10am. Let's just make sure our kids are safe during this time.

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