Helping Kids During Crisis

Recommendations for Parents/Guardians

  • Try and keep routines as normal as possible.
  • Kids gain security from the predictability of routine, including attending school.
  • Limit exposure to television and the news.
  • Be honest with kids and share with them as much information as they are developmentally able to handle.
  • Listen to kids' fears and concerns.
  • Reassure kids that the world is a good place to be, but that there are people who do bad things.
  • Parents and adults need to first deal with and assess their own responses to crisis and stress.
  • Rebuild and reaffirm attachments and relationships.

Suggested Web Sites

Department of Education
Helping Youth and Children Recover From Traumatic Events
Creating and Updating School Emergency Management Plans
Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center

National PTA
Contains information about "Discussing Hate and Violence with Your Children."

PBS.org - Talking With Kids About the News
Develop strategies for discussing today's headlines with children. Learn how to calm their fears and stimulate their minds.

The Child Mind Institute
How to Help Children Cope With Frightening News
Going Back to School After a Tragedy

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Talking to Children about Community Violence

School Violence Resource Center
The goal of the School Violence Resource Center is to help reduce violence and violence-related behavior in American schools. Resources available include a fact sheet on school violence and prevention issues, training for school resource officers and flip charts designed to serve as a quick reference for school administrators and teachers on how to react to school emergencies, including student violence, student injuries, child abduction, fire and natural disasters.

Crisis Management Institute

Ready Campaign
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Ready Campaign helps the public be prepared in case of national emergency.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

FEMA for Kids

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