Helping Children Heal Following Disaster

Evidence-informed recommendations to help parents support children after crisis.

Reviewed by Margaret Foley

Key points

• Understanding common reactions to a crisis can help parents provide extra comfort and patience post-disaster.
• There are evidence-based trauma treatments for children who do need additional help.
• Re-establishing routines as much as possible post-disaster can help children adapt.

With wildfires, hurricanes, and severe weather frequently making the news, our hearts go out to the communities affected as they not only contend with the initial crisis but also face a long-term recovery period filled with uncertainties. Parents of minor children impacted by a natural disaster often want to know what they can do to help their children heal.

The good news is that the wealth of research on children and adults over the long-term aftermath of disaster tells us that we should expect resilience, which is bouncing back to previous functioning within a few days or weeks, or gradual recovery (Bonanno et al., 2010). Our brains and bodies have a strong natural capacity to heal over time. Resilience or recovery are the outcomes for the vast majority of survivors, with fewer showing ongoing, clinical levels of mental health concerns that can impair functioning. There is even hope for those facing ongoing mental health challenges post-disaster, as we have evidence-based treatments, like trauma-focused cognitive behavioral interventions, that can help children get on the path to full recovery.

There are a variety of understandable, common reactions in the initial aftermath of a natural disaster, and most will dissipate in the days and weeks that follow. For children, this can include sleep problems, such as sleeping more or less than usual, or having nightmares; showing signs of distress or the opposite, feeling numb to the events; and difficulty concentrating or paying attention at school, to name a few (Brymer et al., 2006). Understanding these common reactions can help parents have greater patience in the initial aftermath, provide extra comfort and soothing, and also have hope that these reactions are likely temporary and that their child will be OK in the long run.

Parents should understand that changes in behavior and emotions are common among children of all ages in the initial days and weeks that follow a disaster while also monitoring to see if these reactions persist or start building up in a way that impacts their child’s ability to learn, maintain healthy relationships, or enjoy life. Some of the disaster experiences that may increase the risk for long-term distress include personally getting sick or injured in the disaster, having someone close to the child get sick or injured, knowing someone who lost their life, being afraid they would die, or having a pet lost, hurt, or killed (Felix et al., 2019). This does not mean that having any one of these experiences indicates that a child will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a related condition, but that caregivers should adopt a wait-and-watch stance, and seek extra support and resources if symptoms increase, get worse, or do not get better over time and are impacting life.

However, if a child was already struggling with a lot of worries, depression, or other mental health or behavioral concerns prior to the disaster, the disaster experience may exacerbate this. Therefore, seeking extra support sooner rather than later may be indicated. If a child is already seeing a qualified child mental health therapist, work together on monitoring and addressing any additional concerns that may come up due to the disaster experience or the stressors that tend to come up in the aftermath. If a parent needs to find a child therapist, look for one experienced in evidence-based trauma treatments for children. Although there is a wealth of treatment approaches for adults, there are fewer evidence-based options for children at this time. To date, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral interventions are the recommendation (Forbes et al., 2020).

Beyond providing extra comfort, soothing, and patience post-disaster, parents can help children by re-establishing routines as soon as feasibly possible (Brymer et al., 2006). This includes sending children back to school when schools reopen, or establishing a school-like routine as much as reasonably possible on weekdays at home or in the shelter until schools do reopen. When it becomes feasible given the recovery context a parent may find themselves in, re-establishing bedtime and waking up schedules, meal schedules, and nighttime routines is also helpful.

Children may have a lot of questions about what has happened and what it means for them. Misinformation and rumors can spread quickly. Parents should provide factual information about what happened, tailored to the age and understanding of their child, in a calm tone of voice, emphasizing the roles of helpers and what the parent is doing to keep their child safe (Brymer et al., 2006). If a child asks a question that a parent does not have the answer to, it is OK to say that you do not know but will try to get the answers. Ask the child what questions they have and follow their lead on what they want to know. Acknowledge the range of emotions that the child may be having, and if the parent has the same ones, it can be helpful to share that the parent has felt the same way, too. Then discuss how you handle difficult emotions, and emphasize how the family will get through this together.

Finally, it can be helpful for everyone to remember that although these are perhaps some of the most difficult experiences that the family has had to date, this will be a chapter in your story, not the whole book. Over time, we can expect recovery in our families and communities.

To find a therapist, please visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.