News

When a child has witnessed distressing events through news and social media, it is entirely normal for them to experience much higher levels of distress than usual.

Depending on the impact of the trauma, the age of the child and the supportive relationships they have prior to the traumatic event, their distress may be shown in all sorts of ways. This can include aches and pains, sleeplessness, becoming snappy and withdrawn or not wanting to be separated from parents and other significant adults. It can also be a trigger for memories of past traumas to reoccur as children may remember when they felt unsafe or insecure.

Children under nine are more affected by visual images. Older children are better able to absorb the abstract message of what has happened, even if the footage is not explicit, so they are more affected by coverage of the aftermath of an event such as a terrorist attack.

When talking with your children:

Respond calmly.
Acknowledge their fears and make sure they know it’s okay to ask questions.
With young children, you can explain that they and your family are safe. You can also say something like: “Sad and scary things do happen in the world but they are rare. There are lots of sensible people who are looking after those who have been hurt and are working hard to stop things like this happening."
With older children, it is often harder because they raise the same questions that we are doing. A suggestion is you can use historical examples, such as the Second World War, to explain that bad things happen but we still go on.

Answer questions directly - but don’t give more information than they are asking for.
Keeping routines as normal as possible is best, however gauge the mood of the moment.
We need to give children hope and reassure them that they are safe.

More information can be found in the Michael Grose article “Responding constructively to Christchurch”.

If this raises specific issues for your family and young people, please feel free to contact one of our counsellors.

Jennie Sanderson | Director of Wellbeing

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO NEWSLETTER