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> Helping Children
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How to Help Children |
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How
to Help Children |
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| Routines |
| Children
of all ages can benefit from the family keeping
their usual routines—meals, activities,
and bedtimes—as close to normal as possible.
This allows a child to feel more secure and in
control. As much as possible, children should
stay with people with whom they feel most familiar. |
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| Special
Needs |
Accept
the special needs of children by allowing them
to be more dependent on you for a period of time.
Give more hugs if they need them; let them keep
the light on at night or not sleep alone or return
to having their favorite teddy bear or blanket;
don't mind their clinging behavior.
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| Media
Coverage |
Following
a disaster, everyone is eager to hear the latest
news about what happened. However, disaster research
has shown that unexpected messages or images on
television were frightening, causing a reappearance
of stress-related problems. In addition, anyone
who watches the disaster coverage can become what
is called a "secondary victim" and can
suffer emotional and physical problems. It is
best to not allow children to watch news coverage
of the disaster.
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| Feelings
and Reactions |
Children
express their feelings and reactions in different
ways. Your acceptance of this will make a difference
to how your child recovers from the trauma. This
means accepting that some children will react
by becoming withdrawn and unable to talk about
the event, while others will feel intensely sad
and angry at times and at other times will act
as if the disaster never happened. Children are
often confused about what has happened and about
their feelings. However, don't be surprised if
some children don't seem to be affected by what
they have seen and heard. Not everyone has immediate
reactions; some have delayed reactions that show
up days, weeks, or even months later, and some
may never have a reaction.
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| Talking
About What Happened |
- Listen
to and accept children's feelings.
- Give
honest, simple, brief answers to their questions.
- Make
sure they understand your answers and the
meaning you intend.
- Use
words or phrases that won't confuse a child
or make the world more frightening.
- Create
opportunities for children to talk with each
other about what happened and how they are
feeling.
- Give
your child an honest explanation if you are
feeling so upset you don t want to talk about
what happened.
You may want to take "time
out" and ask a trusted family friend
to help.
- If
children keep asking the same question over
and over again it is because they are trying
to understand; trying to make sense out of
the disruption and confusion in their world.
Younger children will not understand that
death is permanent, so their repeated inquiries
are because they expect everything to return
to normal.
- If
the child feels guilty, ask him or her to
explain what happened. Listen carefully to
whether he or she attaches a sense of responsibility
to some part of the description. Explain the
facts of the situation and emphasize that
no one, least of all the child, could have
prevented it.
- Let
the school help The child's teacher can be
sensitive to changes in the child's behavior
and will be able to respond in a helpful way.
- Even
if you feel the world is an unsafe place,
you can reassure your child by saying, "The
event is over. Now we will do everything
possible
to stay safe, and together we can help get
things back to normal."
- Notice
when children have questions and want to talk.
- Be
especially loving and supportive; children
need you at this time.
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Be
Responsible - Be Ready - Be Prepared!
Your Emergency Preparedness Team
Kings County Fire Department, Office of Emergency Management
280 Campus Drive Hanford, CA 93230
(559) 582-3211, Ext. 2634
www.kingscountyoem.com |
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