Talking to children about natural disasters, traumatic events, or worries about the future.

With COVID-19 updates currently on our screens, radios and newspapers, parents and carers might be wondering how best to support their children and reduce worry and distress.  Emerging Minds have provided resources which may provide tips to help you communicate and help your children.

  1. This video introduces ways for parents and carers to manage media coverage of traumatic events, and talk to their children about their worries and fears.
  2. This factsheet focuses on tips to manage children’s exposure to media coverage.

How do you talk to your children about their fears?Media coverage can have an impact on children in the following ways:

  • they can feel that they are unsafe and that something bad may happen to them or their family
  • they can be led to think this event is happening constantly, rather than one event being replayed
  • they can spend a great deal of time thinking about the event, which can affect their sleep and time at school
  • they may be anxious that the same sort of event may happen to them or their family.

 

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash