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Parents are preparing their children to head back to school with a very different school supply list this year – including bulletproof backpacks and dresses, as well as and notes on what to do if there’s an active shooter.
As back-to-school season approaches, both parents and students alike are facing the horrific realities of the rise in gun violence and what it means for the upcoming school year.
Following the recent Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, many parents have taken a drastically different approach to back-to-school prep this year.
Instead of filling their kids’ backpacks with crayons and markers, parents are packing bulletproof inserts into their children’s bookbags, designing bulletproof clothing for their tots – and even running active shooter drills with them to prepare for the start of the school year.
Parents have begun taking a different approach to back to school prep; Cassie Walton, 22, from Oklahoma, took to TikTok to share she’s been bracing her son with active shooter drills
Walton shared a video of her five-year-old son Weston going through an active shooter drill at home in hopes of preparing him for a terrifying fear that has become a reality
The video showed the budding kindergartener holding his bulletproof Spider-Man backpack over him while hiding in the corner of his bedroom
One mom even created a bulletproof dress for her daughter to wear on the first day of school
Cassie Arnold, an art teacher and mom-of-three from Texas, said she was ‘terrified by the idea of sending her children to a place where they were supposed to be safe but might be shot and killed’ while sharing photos of her daughter in the dress to Instagram.
The navy blue gown is made entirely of Kevlar – the heat-resistant and synthetic fiber used in bulletproof vests – and while it is not fully bulletproof, Arnold told Yahoo that it’s meant more to be a ‘conversation’ starter.
‘The biggest hope is that we can keep the conversation going,’ she explained. ‘The dress can create a conversation – not just a nonpartisan conversation – and allow us to come to an equal playing field. We need to protect our babies.’
After the tragedy in Uvalde, the mom-of-three recalled feeling ‘fired up’ and torn about what to do with her kids.
Cassie Arnold, an art teacher and mom-of-three from Texas, said she was ‘terrified by the idea of sending her children to a place where they were supposed to be safe but might be shot and killed’
‘It was the last week of school for my kids and I was in that crossfire [of], “I don’t want to send my kids to school, but we can’t live in fear. So you have to go to school.”
‘We need to not live in fear, but start channeling that fear into action.’
She revealed that after sharing photos of the dress online, many other parents reached out and asked if there was a place for them to buy one, but unfortunately, she has no plans to ‘mass produce’ the gown or sell it to others.
Arnold added on Instagram that in creating the bulletproof clothing she ‘does not want to normalize this type of environment’ for children.
‘None of these responses are solutions that will effect the deep, cultural change that is needed,’ she wrote. ‘They are temporary reactions to the root issues.’
Another mom took to TikTok to share a video of how she’s been bracing her son for the beginning of kindergarten by making him go through active shooter drills.
Cassie Walton, 22, from McAlester, Oklahoma, shared a video of her five-year-old son Weston going through an active shooter drill at home in hopes of preparing him for a terrifying fear that has become a reality for many parents and children across the country.
The video, which racked up over 6.9 million views, showed the budding kindergartener holding his bulletproof Spider-Man backpack over him while hiding in the corner of his bedroom.
In the beginning of the video, Walton can be heard questioning: ‘The teacher called over the intercom and says this is not a drill, everybody go in the corner and be really quiet and still, what do you do?’
The gown is made entirely of Kevlar – the heat-resistant and synthetic fiber used in bulletproof vests. It is not fully bulletproof, but Arnold said it’s meant more to be a ‘conversation’ starter
Krystine is sending her nine-year-old daughter River back to school this year and is ensuring she’s well prepared in case of an emergency
Krystine, a mom-of-two from New Jersey, took to TikTok to share a video of herself placing a bulletproof insert into her daughter’s backpack
Another parent from Indiana showed a video of his child shooting a gun at a gun range with the caption: ‘Took my baby boy to the gun range we getting ready’
Weston ran into the corner and shielded himself with his bulletproof backpack.
Later, the mom-of-two asked her son what he’d do if there was a shooter in the classroom and heard a police officer outside the room ask if ‘anyone was inside.’
Walton reminded her son to ‘not say a word and stay absolutely silent.’
‘Mom will find you,’ Walton reminded her son to ‘run away as far from the school as he can’ if he’s able to get outside during a school shooting.
In an interview with ABC News, Walton said: ‘I just wanted to show that even though it is sad, it’s starting to be our reality with the way things are going.
‘There’s more and more and more shootings every single year, and it’s better to be prepared than to be sorry.’
More parents have shown how they’re prepping their children for a new school year online, amid growing fears of gun violence.
Krystine Kemp, a mom-of-two from New Jersey, took to TikTok to share a video of herself placing a bulletproof insert into her daughter’s backpack.
Krystine is sending her nine-year-old daughter River back to school this year and is ensuring she’s well prepared in case of an emergency.
In the video, which racked up over 1.5 million views, the mom showed herself holding up the bulletproof insert and putting it inside her daughter’s backpack.
‘I have a bulletproof vest inside my daughter’s back,’ Krystine said.
She added that she taught her daughter to ‘put her body against the wall and use [her backpack] as a shield.’
In a follow up video, River said: ‘[My backpack] is used to protect me when someone is shooting.’
In another video, posted on the day of the Uvalde shooting, Krystine, while holding up the bulletproof insert, said: ‘After what happened today, this could’ve saved a little kid’s life.’
‘I’m going to leave this in my little kid’s bag because the world is crazy and you never know what’s going to happen.
‘Thank me later,’ the mom-of-two added.
Another parent from Indiana shared a video of his child shooting a gun at a gun range with the caption: ‘Took my baby boy to the gun range we getting ready.’
The video showed the young boy who appeared to be no older than seven, shooting a gun with the help of his dad.
A Texas middle school teacher posted a video showing the realities of being a teacher in the ‘era of school shootings’
She begins by showing how she must be able to ‘lock her door quickly’ in case of a threat and showing it’s essential to have a ‘window cover you can quickly pull down’
She ends the video by showing herself attempting to make a ‘plan’ to hide and keep every student in her classroom safe
Teachers have also taken to the social media platform to show how they’re preparing for another school year.
A Texas middle school teacher posted a video showing the realities of being a teacher in the ‘era of school shootings.’
She begins by showing how she must be able to ‘lock her door quickly’ in case of a threat and showing it’s essential to have a ‘window cover you can quickly pull down.’
Next she shares that although she ‘loves natural sunlight,’ she has to keep the shades on the windows in her classroom down so ‘no one can see inside your classroom.’
The middle school teacher even showed herself hiding in her ‘safe space’ adding that she always makes sure it’s ‘clear and accessible.’
She ends the video by showing herself attempting to make a ‘plan’ to hide and keep every student in her classroom safe, but being ‘scared’ since she has ‘never been trained’ for an active shooter situation.
According to The Gun Violence Archive, there have been 212 mass shootings in 2022 thus far, with the year before ending in 693 mass shootings.
Education Week has been tracking school shootings since 2018. In the past four years, there have been a total of 119 school shootings.
In 2022 there have been 27 school shootings thus far, 34 in 2021, 10 in 2020 and 24 in both 2018 and 2019.
The videos were met with thousands of comments from emotional parents struggling to fathom the fear they had for their children
And the parents who have taken to social media to share their concerns weren’t alone.
In a survey by the Pew Research Center, 63 per cent of parents said they were worried about the possibility of a school shooting occurring at their children’s school.
Furthermore, the Child Mind Institute shares that parents are often more concerned about school shootings then younger children are.
The Child Mind Institute added that parents should discuss their fears with their children, confirming the fears of the parents who have shared their lessons on social media, because it could help prepare them for a possible threat at their school.
The videos were met with thousands of comments from emotional parents struggling to fathom the fear they had for their children.
‘We are failing our kids. I’m sobbing. I have a first grader and 7th grader. I feel this daily. I’m so sorry, baby. I’m soo sorry,’ said one user.
Another user added: ‘I’m just baffled that its come to this… I really can’t believe it.. How sad.’
‘From Australia, with my little guy ready to start school soon too, with his Spiderman backpack, this whole thing just made me cry. America,’ commented one user.
One user said: ‘We shouldn’t have to do this.’
‘As a teacher this breaks my heart that this is even necessary. Bless his little heart,’ commented another user.