Coping With Disaster

Recent tornadoes in the central part of the country have left many kids homeless, injured, and scared. Experiencing a natural disaster either by living through it or just watching it on television can have long term, devastating effects on children.

Fourteen year old Allison and her two younger sisters survived a tornado, but a year later still struggle with fear. Allison remembers, “It was really loud. I woke up and all the trees were falling on my house.” Experts say those kind of memories can cause fear in children. Even if they don’t experience the devastation but see it on television, fear can be the result. “We have seen kids who have just been in the area and have seen it on tv and they’ll have terrible phobias,” says Dr. Stephen Garber, a child psychologist. Garber recommends parents pay close attention to kids who live in areas that have been affected by natural disaster. Often they will appear to be just fine and the fear will surface later. “They push it down inside themselves and when it comes out later, it may surface as a specific fear,” says Garber.

Parents can help kids cope with patience and reassurance and by encouraging them to talk or express their feelings by drawing and writing about them.

 What Parents Should Know

Experts say how a parent reacts to a traumatic event will greatly affect how their child responds. Kids are very aware of their parents fears and worries and even more sensitive to them during crisis.

Kids depend on daily routines like waking up, eating breakfast, going to school and playing with friends. The American Red Cross advises parents to attempt to keep these routines in place as much as possible after a crisis.

Kids will also look to parents for clues on how to react to an emergency. If parents react with alarm, a child may be more fearful. Experts say kids see a parent’s fear as proof that the danger is real.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry advises parents to admit their concerns to children but keep things in perspective by stressing the parents abilities to cope with the situation, remain in control and keep children safe.

Feelings of fear are natural and healthy for children and adults, but parents need to maintain control, concentrate on a child’s emotional needs, and reassure kids through routines that life will return to normal.