Handling Kids' Stress in 'Wrecked Down' Cities
Release Date: November 18, 1999
Release Number: 1292-101
» More Information on North Carolina Hurricane Floyd & Irene
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Psychological effects of the winds and flooding from hurricanes Floyd and Irene may linger with North Carolina's children for months to come.
The stress caused by a disaster can affect children more than anyone, according to mental health experts. Anxiety results from the loss of possessions, disruption to family life, and a sense of a hostile world created by disaster. Parents are urged to be alert to signs of trouble such as the following:
Children five or younger:
Watch for such behaviors as crying more than usual, clinging, nightmares, excessive fear of the dark or of animals or of being along, changing appetites, or returning to outgrown behaviors such as bed-wetting or thumb-sucking.
Children age 5-11 may also show anxiety, irritability or aggression, competition with siblings for parents' attention. They may whine, withdraw from peers, or lose interest in normal activities.
Those 11-18 may show outright rebellion, physical problems, apathy or sleep disturbance.
Ways to deal with such behavior include:
- Encourage your children to talk about their fears. Let them ask questions and describe how they're feeling. Listen to what they say, as a family group when possible.
- Reassure children with love. Tell them they are safe, everything will be all right, life will return to normal again.
- Keep them informed in simple language what is happening.
- Emphasize that they are not responsible for what happened.
- Hold and hug them frequently.
- Encourage them to return to school and discuss problems with teachers and to resume playing games, riding bikes and other such activities.
- If a child does not respond to these, seek help from a mental health specialist.
Counseling is being provided in North Carolina's hardest-hit counties through a program funded by FEMA. For referral to a counselor, call 1-800-662-7030 8a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Counseling also may be requested by calling the FEMA helpline, 1-800-525-0321 (TTY 1-800-462-7585).
There also is a helpful "FEMA for Kids"Web Site.
Found there are games, "Julie and Robbie" teaching about floods, a kids activity survival kit, Boy Scouts winning a merit badge in Project Impact (a FEMA program which is starting to make U.S. communities disaster-resistant), and kids working through their disaster anxieties with stories and poetry such as:
The Big, Big Flood
By Kelsey, Kindergarten
I saw my old little chair. It was yucky.
I didn't touch anything because the flood got in my house too much
I heard sirens. They were really loud and they sounded like police sirens.
I tasted the cereal in the back seat of my car. We keep it in the trunk.
I smelled the old garbage. It smelled really, really icky.
Flood Damage
By Emily, Kindergarten
I saw broken glass form the window of my house.
It looked like a hors; a dirty hors.
I felt mud. It felt soft like soft hair.
I heard glass breaking when we were throwing garbage away.
It sounded like a quiet "ching."
I tasted some candy from the gas station. It tasted good.
I smelled flood water. It smelled like root beer pop to me.
I am glad that the flood is over.
Wrecked Down City
By Laura, Kindergarten
I saw mold. It looked green.
I felt some tall weeks. They felt cold and straight.
I heard sirens. They sounded noisy.
I tasted Red Cross food. It tasted like chili.
I smelled smoke. It smelled like the weeds burning.
Last Modified: Thursday, 11-Dec-2003 13:35:44