What Parents Can Do
1. Focus on your children over the next day or so. Tell them you love them and everything will be
okay. Try to help them understand what has happened, keeping in mind their developmental
level.
2. Make time to talk with your children. Remember if you do not talk to your children about
this incident someone else will. Take some time and determine what you wish to say.
3. Stay close to your children. Your physical presence will reassure
them and give you the opportunity monitor their reaction. Many children will want actual
physical contact. Give plenty of hugs. Let them sit close to you, and make sure to take
extra time at bedtime to cuddle and to reassure them that they are loved and safe.
4. Limit the amount of your child's television viewing of these
events. If they must watch, watch with them
for a brief time; then turn the set off. Don't sit mesmerized re-watching the same events
over and over again.
5. Maintain a "normal" routine. To the extent possible
stick to your family's normal routine for dinner, homework, chores, bedtime, etc., but
don't be inflexible. Children may have a hard
time concentrating on schoolwork or falling asleep at night.
6. Spend extra time reading or playing quiet games with your children
before bed. These activities are calming,
foster a sense of closeness and security, and reinforce a sense of normalcy. Spend more
time tucking them in. Let them sleep with a
light on if they ask for it.
7. Safeguard your children's physical health. Stress can take a physical toll on children as
well as adults. Make sure your children get
appropriate sleep, exercise and nutrition.
8. Consider praying or thinking hopeful thoughts for the victims and
their families. It may be a good time to take
your children to church or the synagogue, write a poem, or draw a picture to help your
child express their feelings and feel that they are somehow supporting the victims and
their families.
9. Find out what resources your school has in place to help children
cope. Most schools are likely to be open and often are a good place for children to regain
a sense of normalcy. Being with their
friends and teachers can help. Schools should
also have a plan for making counseling available to children and adults who need it. |
All Adults Should:
1. Model calm and control. Children
take their emotional cues from the significant adults in their lives. Avoid appearing
anxious or frightened.
2. Reassure children that they are safe and so are the other
important adults in their lives. Explain that these buildings were targeted for their
symbolism and that schools, neighborhoods, and regular office buildings are not at risk.
3. Remind them that trustworthy people are in charge. Explain that the government emergency workers,
police, fireman, doctors, and even the military are helping people who are hurt and are
working to ensure that no further tragedies occur.
4. Let children know that it is okay to feel upset. Explain that all feelings are okay when a tragedy
like this occurs. Let children talk about
their feelings and help put them into perspective. Even
anger is okay, but children may need help and patience from adults to assist them in
expressing these feelings appropriately.
5. Observe children's emotional state.
Depending on their age, children may not express their concerns verbally.
Changes in behavior, appetite, and sleep patterns can also indicate a child's level of
grief, anxiety or discomfort. Children will
express their emotions differently. There is no right or wrong way to feel or express
grief.
6. Tell children the truth. Don't try to pretend the event has not
occurred or that it is not serious. Children
are smart. They will be more worried if they
think you are too afraid to tell them what is happening.
7. Stick to the facts. Don't
embellish or speculate about what has happened and what might happen. Don't dwell on the
scale or scope of the tragedy, particularly with young children.
8. Keep your explanations developmentally appropriate. Early
elementary school children need brief, simple information that should be balanced with
reassurances that the daily structures of their lives will not change. Upper elementary
and early middle school children will be more vocal in asking questions about whether they
truly are safe and what is being done at their school.
They may need assistance separating reality from fantasy. Upper middle
school and high school students will have strong and varying opinions about the causes of
violence in schools and society. They will
share concrete suggestions about how to make school safer and how to prevent tragedies in
society. They will be more committed to doing
something to help the victims and affected community.
For all children, encourage them to verbalize their thoughts and
feelings. Be a good listener! |
