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Helping Children Cope with Terrorism and War
The following organizations have resources that may be useful to parents, caregivers, and administrators as they help children and youth deal with stress related to war. NCCIC does not endorse any organization, publication, or resource.
National Organizations
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has developed the Facts for Families series to provide concise and up-to-date information about issues that affect children, teenagers, and their families. Facts for Families No. 87: Talking to Children About Terrorism and War is available at www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/facts_for_families.
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides information about disaster preparedness and response on its Web site at http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/disasters.cfm.
- American Psychological Association (APA) has created Reactions and Guidelines for Children Following Trauma/Disaster to help parents and teachers of kindergarten and elementary school children, which is available at http://www.apa.org/practice/ptguidelines.html.
- Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has created Managing Anxiety in Times of Stress, which is available at http://www.mentalhealth.org/cmhs/childrenanxiety.
- Children, Youth and Families Education and Research Network (CYFERNET) provides resources about war, terrorism, homeland security, and emergency preparedness. These resources are available at http://www.cyfernet.org/hottopic/09-08-children_coping.html
- Children’s National Medical Center: The International Center To Heal Our Children: Building Healthy Minds and Futures has prepared The Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions Following Traumatic Events: Violence, Disasters, and Terrorism (2002), which is available in English and Spanish. This resource and others are available at http://www.childrensnational.org/dcchildrens/about/pdf/handbook_english.pdf.
- Connect for Kids provides two compilations of resources: Helping Kids Cope With Trauma and Help With the Healing. Both are available at www.connectforkids.org/node/392.
- ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE) prepared “Stress and Young Children” (December 2002), an ERIC Digest , which is available at http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1a/aa/cf.pdf.
- Family and Work Institute produced Coping and Contributing in the Aftermath of Crisis, Tragedy and Trauma: An Educator’s Guide (2002), which is available at www.familiesandwork.org/summary/ste.pdf.
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) developed Supporting Young Children During War and Conflict, which is available at www.naeyc.org/ece/2003/06.asp.
- National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) jointly prepared Helping Children Cope with Crisis: An Activity Book for African American Families, which is available at www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/cope_with_crisis_book/index.cfm.
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) developed Fact Sheet: Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disasters (October 2001), which is available at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/
helping-children-and-adolescents-cope-with-violence-and-disasters-what-parents-can-do.shtml - National Mental Health Association (NMHA) has prepared Coping with Disaster, which is available in English at www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/information/coping-with-disaster. A Spanish version titled, Recursos para Cómo Enfrentar Un Desastre, is available at www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/information/get-info/coping-with-disaster/coping-with-disaster-en-espanol.
- National Network for Child Care (NNCC) has prepared Stressful Life Events, which includes articles in both English and Spanish. This resource is available at http://cyfernet.ces.ncsu.edu/cyfdb/browse_3.php
?cat_id=507&category_name=Stressful+Life+Events&search=NNCC&search_type=browse - Public Broadcasting System (PBS) has prepared Talking with Kids About the News for parents and child care providers, which is available at http://www.pbs.org/parents/talkingwithkids/news/.
- Purple Wagon is a Web site created by Purdue University Extension in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Much of the content base for this site comes from research regarding children’s understanding of and parent-child communication about war and peace. This resource is available at www.ces.purdue.edu/purplewagon/index.htm.
- The U.S. Department of Defense Educational Opportunities Directorate has produced three guides to assist parents, teachers, and other professionals who work with military children:
- Caring for Kids After Trauma and Death is available at
http://www.aboutourkids.org/files/articles/crisis_guide02.pdf. - Educator’s Guide to the Military Child During Deployment is available at
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/homefront/homefront.pdf. - Parent’s Guide to the Military Child During Deployment and Reunion is available at
http://www.aap.org/sections/uniformedservices/deployment/pdfs/parent_guide_deployment.pdf.
- Caring for Kids After Trauma and Death is available at
- U.S. Department of Education has prepared resources about how to help children understand terrorist attacks. Resources are available at www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/september11/index.html. A Spanish version, Ayuda Para Los Niños y Los Jóvenes en la Comprensión de los Ataques Terroristas is available at www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/september11/index-es.html.
- Virginia Joint Military Family Services Board has prepared Working With Military Children: A Primer for School Personnel (February 2003), which is available at www.nmfa.org/site/DocServer?docID=642.
- ZERO TO THREE provides selected resources for parents and professionals on its Web page, Disaster Relief and Trauma, available at www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=key_disaster.
Additional Resources
- National Advisory Committee on Children and Terrorism, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented the report, National Advisory Committee on Children and Terrorism: Recommendations to the Secretary (June 2003) to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is available at www.bt.cdc.gov/children/PDF/working/Recommend.pdf.
- National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and National Child Traumatic Stress Network have produced Psychological First Aid: Field Operations Guide, 2nd Edition (July 2006), an evidence-informed modular approach for assisting people in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism to reduce initial distress and foster short- and long-term adaptive functioning. It is for use by mental health specialists, including first responders, incident command systems, primary and emergency health care providers, school crisis response teams, faith-based organizations, disaster relief organizations, community emergency response teams, Medical Reserve Corps, and the Citizens Corps in diverse settings. This resource is available at http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/manuals/nc_manual_psyfirstaid.html.
Updated September 2008
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NCCIC is a service of the Child Care Bureau (CCB), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Administration for Children and Families(ACF), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services