Offering Hope…
Behavioral Health Services for the Kansas City Northland community. Prevention, assessment and treatment services for individuals and families throughout Clay, Platte and Ray counties
Helping Children Cope Following Stressful Events
Reassure your child calmly and with understanding.
Your first task is to recognize and manage your own emotions. Children usually take their lead in a situation by reading the emotions of adults. Adults should share their true feelings about the incident, but maintain a sense of calm for the child’s sense of well-being. Try to understand what is causing anxieties and fears. Be aware that following a disaster, children are afraid that the event will happen again. Reassurance may be particularly crucial during episodes of bad weather.
Accept and expect a full range of emotions and coping strategies for yourself and your children.
Respect children’s unique responses. They may be inconsistent with what parents would expect. Responses may include fear, sadness, nightmares, physical complaints, or regression to a previous level of functioning. Or, children may behave in a silly, playful manner in an effort to reduce tension.
Listen carefully to your children’s questions.
Provide age-appropriate information. Depending on the age and maturity of your child, answer their questions honestly in a calm reassuring manner with words and concepts that they will understand.
Avoid pressuring your children to talk.
Children may not be asking questions about this event. Avoid pressuring them to talk about this. Rather, ask about open-ended questions to ascertain what information they may find confusing or frightening. For example, you can ask, "What have you heard?" "What do you think about it?" And, "How do you feel?" The questions you ask will be determined by the age and maturity of your children. If a child has difficulty expressing feelings, it may be helpful to allow the child to draw a picture or tell a story of what of what happened.
Reassure your child calmly and with understanding.Your first task is to recognize and manage your own emotions. Children usually take their lead in a situation by reading the emotions of adults. Adults should share their true feelings about the incident, but maintain a sense of calm for the child’s sense of well-being. Try to understand what is causing anxieties and fears. Be aware that following a disaster, children are afraid that the event will happen again. Reassurance may be particularly crucial during episodes of bad weather.
Accept and expect a full range of emotions and coping strategies for yourself and your children.
Respect children’s unique responses. They may be inconsistent with what parents would expect. Responses may include fear, sadness, nightmares, physical complaints, or regression to a previous level of functioning. Or, children may behave in a silly, playful manner in an effort to reduce tension.
Listen carefully to your children’s questions.
Provide age-appropriate information. Depending on the age and maturity of your child, answer their questions honestly in a calm reassuring manner with words and concepts that they will understand.
Avoid pressuring your children to talk.
Children may not be asking questions about this event. Avoid pressuring them to talk about this. Rather, ask about open-ended questions to ascertain what information they may find confusing or frightening. For example, you can ask, "What have you heard?" "What do you think about it?" And, "How do you feel?" The questions you ask will be determined by the age and maturity of your children. If a child has difficulty expressing feelings, it may be helpful to allow the child to draw a picture or tell a story of what of what happened.
Tri-County Mental Health Services, 3100 NE 83rd St., Suite 1001, Kansas City, MO 64119-9998
Telephone: (816) 468-0400 Fax: (816) 468-6635 • 24-Hour Emergency Service Crisis Line 1-888-279-8188
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