10 Ideas to Help Children
Cope With Natural Disasters

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While hundreds of thousands of children will be directly affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, children throughout the country will experience distress as they hear of friends and family who have suffered and as they watch displaced people on TV. Parents and other adults can take steps to help children cope with their fears and live with hope.

Here are ten suggestions.

  1. Allow children to express their concerns through artwork and play.
  2. Pray with children for those affected by the hurricane.
  3. Limit children’s exposure to television coverage of the disaster.
  4. Give children something concrete to do. For example, let children help purchase and assemble health kits, layettes, or flood buckets. See http:/ /gbgm-umc.org/umcor/kits.cfm for information on how to assemble kits.
  5. Develop a family disaster plan for the types of natural disasters that may happen in your area. Role-play some possible situations. Knowing that you are prepared will help children cope with fears that they may find themselves separated from family in the event of a disaster.
  6. Talk with children about what has happened, helping them to identify their feelings. Ask them what they have heard about the disaster from other children. Sometimes children have heard wildly inac­curate information from their peers that needs to be corrected to alleviate fears that have no basis in reality.
  7. Discuss openly with children what your family and church are doing to help those who have been hurt by the disaster.
  8. Older children may find it helpful to write about what they are feeling. Suggest keeping a journal on paper or computer.
  9. Let children use puppets to express their feelings.
  10. Do a low-key activity together such as assembling a puzzle, playing a board game, or baking cookies. These activities create space for children to talk. Children often find it easier to talk about important things while their hands are engaged in something else.

© 2005 General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. Permission is granted to copy for use in local congregations.
Copied to www.GilboaDamInfo.com/Kids.htm 11/27/2005 for use in Middleburgh N.Y. UM Church and other congregations in Schoharie Valley.