NEDV Home | The Village | Contact | Market Place | Services | Support

NEDV Home | The Village | Art Gallery | Auction Alley | Dance Steps | Family Ties | Health Fair | Kid's Club House | Tunes Terrace | Parent Place | Senior Square | Teen Street | The Balcony | Town Talk | Weather Watch

Return to North East Digital Village Relief Information Main Page

Resouces for children, their parents and caregivers are listed here. Other pertinent information about children as relates to how to help children coping with the terrorism of September 11, 2001 will also be listed.

For assistance to view, print or download Adobe Acrobat PDF Files, please visit the Adobe Acrobat web site

What do I say to My Kids?

• Helping Children Handle Disaster-Related Anxiety
• Helping Children Cope With Loss
• Disaster Counseling Materials
• Guidelines for Children following Trauma/Disaster
• Primary Care Physicians - Talking with Your Patients about Trauma
• Talking with Children & Adolescents after a Traumatic Event
• Talking to Kids About Terrorism

~ to the Top

Helping Children Handle Disaster-Related Anxiety

Children sense the anxiety and tension in adults around them. And, like adults, children experience the same feelings of helplessness and lack of control that disaster-related stress can bring about. Unlike adults, however, children have little experience to help them place their current situation into perspective.... [articles continues courtesy the National Mental Health Assoc.]

Helping Children Cope With Loss

Helping children cope with their loss will be crucial in enabling them to resume their lives more fully at home and school. Children will express their grief in a variety of ways and may appear to be unaffected by the death. Pre-schoolers have difficulty understanding that death is not temporary; children between the ages of five and nine begin to experience grief more like adults.

Don't push children to talk about their feelings. Children, like adults, need time to grieve and be upset. Let them know you are ready to listen, and provide reassurance and validation of their feelings when they express them. Here are some issues to consider when helping a child overcome loss:... [articles continues courtesy the National Mental Health Assoc.]

~ to the Top

American Red Cross Disaster Counseling Materials

The American Red Cross provides materials to help you and your family cope with yesterday's tragedies.

• Helping Young Children Cope with Trauma. This brochure is intended for parents and other caregivers. It describes typical reactions of children to trauma by age groups. It also provides parents with some suggestions for helping their children manage their feelings about the event. The brochure is intended for parents of children of all ages, but specifically for children up to 8 or 9 years old.
• When Bad Things Happen. This brochure is written for children of middle school age, and speaks directly to them about the types of things that have created the level of anxiety they may be feeling and some things that they can do to help themselves resolve their feelings and fear. This brochure should be given directly to the child, but does contain information that may be helpful to parents.
• Why Do I Feel Like This? This brochure is written for high school age children, and also speaks directly to them about the types of things that have created the level of anxiety they may be feeling and some things that they can do to help themselves resolve their feelings and fear.

Guidelines for Children following Trauma/Disaster

Possible Reactions in Elementary School Students:
1) Feelings of anxiety, fears, and worries about safety of self and others (more clingy to teacher or parent)
2) Worries about re-occurrence of violence
3) Increased levels of distress (whiny, irritable, more "moody")
4) Changes in behavior:... [more] Courtesy American Psychological Association & the Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Also Middle and High School Students, school personnel and guidelines for parents.

Primary Care Physicians - Talking with Your Patients about Trauma

It is critical to look beyond the somatic complaints for the possible presence of underlying anxiety, stress, depression and/or post-traumatic stress disorder. Children are especially likely to somaticize emotional distress. [articles continues courtesy the National Mental Health Assoc.]

Talking with Children & Adolescents after a Traumatic Event

The Department of Children & Families, State of CT has provided information to assist parents and caretakers in dealing with their children's reactions. Children and adolescents who remain distressed about the national crisis so that their daily functioning is impaired may need evaluation and treatment by a mental health professional.

• Talking with Children and Adolescents After a Traumatic Event
• Connecticut Child Guidance Clinics- Adobe .pdf document

~ to the Top

Talking to Kids About Terrorism

In light of the current terrorist crisis, Parenthood.com presents this specialarticle. Due to the length of the article, an excerpt is below. To read it in its entirety, click on the link at the end.

by Linda Sharp (excerpt) It is not an exaggeration to say that an entire nation has been riveted to its TV sets since roughly 9 AM EDT, Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, many of those viewers have been our children, who are learning a horrifying lesson on terrorism, in vivid Technicolor. What is difficult for the adult mind to fathom is surely impossible for a child. So, as their questions begin, our biggest question as parents is, how do we discuss this with them?

Child Psychologist Amy Feld stresses, An open dialogue with your children is essential. For a child, the questions are often scarier than the answers they receive. Even if the best you can offer is "I don't know", they need to feel secure in asking the question.

Clinical & medical psychologist Michael D. Connor concurs, In one violent or traumatic moment the world can become unpredictable, dangerous and frightening. Whether it is a small town occurrence or a national one as seen today, it is important to reassure your children that they are safe. He suggests, Take time to talk about the events, especially as their thoughts and feelings arise. They may have questions right away, or they may surface many days later. Listen carefully. Reassure them they are okay and just be with them. Don't avoid regular activities. Especially for younger children, routine is essential to their sense of security... (more)

~ to the Top