Helping Children After A Disaster

A catastrophe such as an earthquake, hurricane, tornado, fire, flood, or violent acts is frightening to children and adults alike. It is important to acknowledge the frightening parts of the disaster when talking with a child about it. Falsely minimizing the danger will not end a child's concerns. Several factors affect a child's response to a disaster.

The way children see and understand their parents' responses are very important. Children are aware of their parents' worries most of the time, but they are particularly sensitive during a crisis. Parents should admit their concerns to their children, and also stress their abilities to cope with the situation.

A child's reaction also depends on how much destruction and/or death he or she sees during and after the disaster. If a friend or family member has been killed or seriously injured, or if the child's school or home has been severely damaged, there is a greater chance that the child will experience difficulties.

A child's age affects how the child will respond to the disaster. For example, six-year-olds may show their worries about a catastrophe by refusing to attend school, whereas adolescents may minimize their concerns, but argue more with parents and show a decline in school performance. It is important to explain the event in words the child can understand.

Following a disaster, people may develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is psychological damage that can result from experiencing, witnessing, or participating in an overwhelmingly traumatic (frightening) event. Children with this disorder have repeated episodes in which they re-experience the traumatic event. Children often relive the trauma through repetitive play. In young children, upsetting dreams of the traumatic event may change into nightmares of monsters, of rescuing others, or of threats to self or others. PTSD rarely appears during the trauma itself. Though its symptoms can occur soon after the event, the disorder often surfaces several months or even years later.

Parents should be alert to these changes in a child's behavior:

• Refusal to return to school and "clinging" behavior, including shadowing the mother or father around the house
• Persistent fears related to the catastrophe (such as fears about being permanently separated from parents)
• Sleep disturbances such as nightmares, screaming during sleep and bedwetting, persisting more than several days after the event
• Loss of concentration and irritability
• Startled easily, jumpy
• Behavior problems, for example, misbehaving in school or at home in ways that are not typical for the child
• Physical complaints (stomachaches, headaches, dizziness) for which a physical cause cannot be found
• Withdrawal from family and friends, sadness, listlessness, decreased activity, and preoccupation with the events of the disaster

Professional advice or treatment for children affected by a disaster--especially those who have witnessed destruction, injury or death--can help prevent or minimize PTSD. Parents who are concerned about their children can ask their pediatrician or family doctor to refer them to a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

For more information see:

Your Child (1998 Harper Collins)/Your Adolescent (1999 Harper Collins).

---

---

Send this page to a friend.
Enter recipient's e-mail address:

---

Copyright © 1995 - 2010 Regina Pickett Garson
All writings, graphics and scripts are copyright by the individual authors. Nothing on this site may be reproduced without permission of the individual authors.

No claims are made as to the reliability of any of the information provided or linked, sources often disagree. None of these pages are meant to be a replacement for professional help, but a resource that enables one to be a more intelligent consumer. You can learn a lot by becoming aware of different opinions. Don't be afraid to ask questions when it comes to your health, physical or emotional.

Regina Garson, Publisher
garson@hiwaay.net

Send a
Free E-Card

---

Search
Magic Stream

---

About Site
Addictions
Aging
Art
Autism
Blog
Books
Child Abuse
Children
Contributors
Contact
Death & Grief
Depression
Diet
Disabilities
Disaster
Dissociation
Divorce
Domestic Violence
Dreams
Eating Disorders
Fairy Tale
Family
Fitness
Food
Free E-cards
Gallery
Gender Issues
Gifts
Holidays
Homeless
Jobs
Learning Disabilities
Medical Reference
Medications
Memberships
Memory
Men's Issues
OCD
Panic & Anxiety
Personal Growth
Personality Tests
Poetry
Psychology
Reaching Out
Recovery
Reference
Relationships
Relaxation
Schizophrenia
Self Defense
Self Esteem
Self Help
Sexual Abuse
Site Map
Sleep
Spa
Spirituality
Stress
Submissions
Suicide
Support Services
Support Site
Teachers
Teens
Therapy
Tourette's
Trauma
Violence
Women

---