The recent terrorist attacks shocked all of us beyond our wildest nightmares. It is not difficult to imagine the helplessness, fear, sense of loss, and distress experienced by a child after a direct trauma such as the death of a parent. Even indirect exposure to a trauma, however, such as hearing about the terrorist attack in a far away city, can evoke intense emotional responses in children.
For those of you who are parents, teachers, and clinicians, the big questions in your minds probably include:
What do we tell our children?
What will a child of 5, 8, 13 or 17 really understand?
What is a "normal" reaction in a child to such an abnormal event?
How can we help?
What are the signs that a child may need professional help?
How can we find out more about this topic?
The following article will address these questions.
Universal Effects of Traumatic Events on Youth
While very young children are less verbally articulate about their feelings than older children, most children of all ages will experience some of the following features after exposure to a trauma:
Increased anxiety when separated from family members
Re-experiencing the exposure through intrusive thoughts, nightmares or repeatedly talking about the traumatic exposure
Increased sensitivity to sounds such as sirens, planes flying above, thunder, loud noises
Sleep disturbance, or fear of the dark
Increase in minor aches and pains such as stomachaches, headaches
Poor concentration with decreased school performance in some cases
Increased thoughts about death and dying
Irritability and increase in worrying
For those of you who are parents, teachers, and clinicians, the big questions in your minds probably include:
What do we tell our children?
What will a child of 5, 8, 13 or 17 really understand?
What is a "normal" reaction in a child to such an abnormal event?
How can we help?
What are the signs that a child may need professional help?
How can we find out more about this topic?
The following article will address these questions.
Universal Effects of Traumatic Events on Youth
While very young children are less verbally articulate about their feelings than older children, most children of all ages will experience some of the following features after exposure to a trauma:
Increased anxiety when separated from family members
Re-experiencing the exposure through intrusive thoughts, nightmares or repeatedly talking about the traumatic exposure
Increased sensitivity to sounds such as sirens, planes flying above, thunder, loud noises
Sleep disturbance, or fear of the dark
Increase in minor aches and pains such as stomachaches, headaches
Poor concentration with decreased school performance in some cases
Increased thoughts about death and dying
Irritability and increase in worrying
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