Helping Children Cope
How To Help Child Victims
Studies indicate that children who experience a traumatic event before they are 11 years old are three times more likely to develop psychological symptoms than those who experience their first trauma as a teenager or later. Children are able to cope better with a traumatic event if parents and other adults help them with their experiences.
Children may exhibit some of these behaviors after a disaster:
Be upset over the loss of a favorite toy, blanket, teddy bear, or other things.
Change from being quiet to loud, or from being outgoing to shy or afraid.
Develop nighttime fears. Be afraid the event will reoccur.
Become easily upset, crying, and whining.
Lose trust in adults, because they were not able to control the fire.
Revert to younger behavior such as bed-wetting or thumb-sucking.
Not want parent out of their sight and refuse to go to school or childcare.
Have symptoms of illness, such as headaches, vomiting, or fever.
Worry about where they and their family will live.
Things Parents or Other Adults Can Do:
Talk with the children about how they are feeling, and listen without judgement.
Let children take their time to figure things out and to have their feelings.
Help them learn words to express their feelings (happy, sad, angry, scared).
Assure fearful children that you will be there to take care of them.
Encourage children to give pictures they have drawn to loved ones.
Be sure they get health care, balanced meals, and enough rest.
Spend extra time with your children at bedtime, reading stories or talking quietly.
Allow special privileges, such as sleeping with the light on after the fire.
Limit their exposure to additional trauma, including news reports.
Don't expect children to be brave or tough, or to "not cry."
Ton't be afraid to "spoil" children in this period after a disaster.
Don't minimize the event.
Find ways to emphasize to the children that you love them.
Allow the children to grieve losses.
