Helping Kids After Traumatic Events

JOURNAL: ISSUE 2 - 2014

For decades, school safety focused chiefly on executing orderly fire drills or managing the occasional fistfight between students. In recent years, however, school safety has expanded to include strategies and procedures designed to prevent and reduce opportunities for violence by disturbed students or adults intent on harming others.

Despite the statistical rarity of these occurrences, the unpredictability of violent acts such as the shootings at Columbine High and Virginia Tech or recent stabbings in Connecticut, along with the constant, often graphic television and Internet coverage that follow them, serve to heighten our sense of helplessness and fear.

As a result, the perception of the school or college campus as a place where students once felt safe and protected has changed for many. And, while children react differently to trauma, for some, heightened anxiety and the fear of becoming a victim of violence has become the new normal.

That’s why parents and relatives may find it necessary to help children regain a sense of safety in the wake of traumatic or violent events. Children may react with increased anxiety or panic, fear of abandonment, difficulty sleeping and nightmares, and/or depression or fears about the future.

Here are some tips for helping children and teens manage exposure to trauma:

• Limit and monitor their media exposure by turning off the television, radio or internet coverage of a traumatic event.
• Encourage children to voice their concerns at age-appropriate levels. For example, preschoolers may benefit from drawing, storytelling or “playing out” their fears, while elementary school age children may be able to express their apprehension verbally. Older children and teens may draw comfort from adult-led peer group discussions involving other young people at school, church or community-sponsored meetings.
• Stay alert to symptoms of anxiety and depression, including nightmares and trouble sleeping, change in appetite, excessive worrying, depression, etc. Seek professional help if problems persist longer than two weeks or more.
• Be sensitive to separation anxiety and offer temporary interim strategies such as allowing a child to sleep in a parent’s or sibling’s room.
• Provide ongoing emotional support and encourage a return to normal routines as soon as your child is able.
• Develop and rehearse a family safety plan so that children understand what to do and where to go in the event of an emergency.
• Focus on and discuss acts of kindness and courage demonstrated by others in response to tragedy.

For additional information about helping children to restore a sense of safety in the midst of trauma, and for a free educational brochure, contact the BAC’s Member Assistance Program (MAP) toll-free at 1-888-880-8222. MAP’s licensed mental health professionals provide guidance, professional support and referrals at no cost to BAC members and their families.