Tips For Talking To Children After A Disaster: How To Help

Tips for Talking to Children After a Disaster: How to Help

Reassurance is the key to helping children through a traumatic time. Very young
children need a lot of cuddling, as well as verbal support. Answer questions about the
disaster honestly, but don’t dwell on frightening details or allow the subject to dominate
family or classroom time indefinitely. Encourage children of all ages to express emotions
through conversation, drawing, or painting and to find a way to help others who were
affected by the disaster.

Try to maintain a normal household or classroom routine and encourage children
to participate in recreational activity. Temporarily reduce your expectations
about performance in school or at home, perhaps by substituting less demanding
responsibilities for normal chores.

Acknowledge that you too may have reactions associated with the traumatic event, and
take steps to promote your own physical and emotional healing.

Tips to Help Children
* Provide children with opportunities to talk about what they are seeing on television
and to ask questions.
* Don’t be afraid to admit that you can’t answer all their questions.
* Answer questions at a level the child can understand.
* Provide ongoing opportunities for children to talk. They will probably have more
questions as time goes on.
* Use this as an opportunity to establish a family emergency plan. Feeling that there is
something you can do may be very comforting to both children and adults.
* Allow children to discuss other fears and concerns about unrelated issues. This is a
good opportunity to explore these issues also.
* Monitor children’s television watching. Some parents may wish to limit their child’s
exposure to graphic or troubling scenes. To the extent possible, watch reports of the
disaster with children. It is at these times that questions might arise.
* Help children understand that there are no bad emotions and that a wide range of
reactions is normal. Encourage children to express their feelings to adults (including
teachers and parents) who can help them understand their sometimes strong and
troubling emotions.
* Try not to focus on blame. In addition to the tragic things they see, help
children identify good things, such as heroic actions, families who are grateful for being
reunited, and the assistance offered by people throughout the country and the world.