This viral TikTok about prepping for active shooter drills is a new, heartbreaking back-to-school reality

What’s one thing you never thought you’d hear (or, maybe, hoped you’d never have to hear) a mother asking her 5-year-old son? I’ll go first: “Now, show me how you use your bulletproof backpack.”

The unfortunate reality of preparing for back to school season in 2022 is that it’s about a lot more than just scoring a good deal on school supplies. Nowadays parents are also in the uncomfortable and tragic situation of having to prep their kids for active shooter drills and having hard conversations about active threats.

Well, that’s exactly what mother of two and TikToker, Cassie Walton recently posted a video about.

It starts with Walton behind the scenes, filming her 5-year-old little boy. The Oklahoma mom begins by asking her son what he’s supposed to do when he hears over the intercom, “this is not a drill” and he needs to get in a corner and be quiet and still.

Her adorable little boy quickly follows instructions and shows his mother how he would hide in the event of an active shooter drill or threat. Then she continues by telling him to show her how he would use his bulletproof backpack to protect himself.

With his little feet peeking out underneath and the rest of his body behind the front of his Spiderman backpack, her son does his best (again, he’s a 5 years old) to protect himself in what every parent hopes would never come to pass.

Related: 20 best backpacks for kids–from preschool & beyond 🙌

It’s only after Walton says, “OK good job” that her son lowers the backpack and gives her a sweet smile.

At this point, I was holding back tears. He’s only five years old. And yet, because of the heartbreaking reality of going to school in America, where just by the end of May we’ve had 27 school shootings, a mother is forced to prepare her child for something that even adults cannot fathom being prepared for. Just thinking about little kids, their tiny bodies practicing how to hide and learning active shooter drills is almost too much to bear.

Walton’s TikTok viral video has gained over 1 million likes and national news coverage. In an interview with CBS News, Walton shares why she decided to create such a video in the first place, saying, she felt that she had to prepare her child “just in case.”

Related: Mothers are not OK after Texas school shooting

“Whenever I was filming the video, I was pushing back all of the tears, trying to get all of that out, and he’s very smart, and he took in all of the information very well, and he wasn’t scared of the drill, he knew it was a serious situation,” Walton described in the interview. “But, you know, as a 5-year-old, he was concerned about the bad guys, and him being 5, he was just like, ‘I’ll just karate chop him if I need to.’ And I was like, ‘No, not quite, it’s a little more serious than that.’ Then, after that, he was able to take it a little more serious.”

The Spiderman backpack her child is seen using in the video actually contains a bulletproof insert that, Walton says, she was inspired to buy after seeing it on another mom’s video.

And, although the insert is pricey, she says, “Honestly, when it comes to protecting your children, no amount of money is too much. I wish that it wasn’t necessary, and I wish we could come up with a better solution.” 

Expert Johnny Price of Big Iron School Training, weighed in on the trending video and said that it’s a good idea to have age-appropriate conversations with your children.

He said, “Be positive about it. The young ones, you make a game of it. The older kids, you can be a little more serious and they can do more to help.” It’s about protecting your kids in any way you can.

But, because bulletproof backpacks might not always be the most practical solution, since backpacks can be changed frequently, having an insert that you can switch from backpack to backpack might be a better solution.

And to keep in mind, he says, that the goal is to ultimately prepare them for what’s out there, not to scare them.

Of course, Walton’s post didn’t just get over a million likes there’s also thousands of comments and shares.

“This is terrifying but it’s our reality AND IT SHOULDNT Be!!👏👏👏”

“I’m so sorry you have to teach this to your child, but good job Mom.”

“As a teacher, thank you for sharing the importance of this 🤍”

“From an Australian mum this made me cry I’m so sorry you have to teach your son this xxx”