Kids often will pick up on what their parents are feeling about disasters and especially one as significant as 9/11. Every channel on the TV will be plastered with images, as well as papers and magazines and any child that can read or understand a picture or listen to parents talking about where they were and their losses, will be affected.
Don’t just shelter the children from this. It is a part of their history and lives and they STILL need to have questions answered. As they age, the impact may be worse for them as they start to realize the true devastation our country experienced.
Walk them through it carefully…don’t give out the gory details, but answer questions truthfully and without too much prejudice and anger. Try to help them see how a select few people in the world were “confused” in what God wanted them to do. Comparisons to your personal religion can be helpful and comforting as well. Not an easy parenting task, but necessary for our children to understand that this behavior is not appropriate and cannot continue. God bless not only America, but all of us! ~ Nurse Mommy
ARTICLE FROM THE ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS:
CHICAGO—In school, at home or on social media, children and teens are thinking and talking about the approaching anniversary of 9/11. They may be asked: Where were you on that day 10 years ago? Or: How will you mark the anniversary?
As the date approaches, and with it the painful memories of the event and its aftermath, some Americans may choose quiet introspection, while others may seek the company of other people with whom to share their feelings. Still others will participate by tuning in to media coverage. Many organizations and cities are offering ways to remember the day by taking actions to spread peace. Positive messages will be communicated, yet children and adolescents may experience anxiety around this time.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reminds families, schools, media and other groups to give special thought to children as they plan for the anniversary and the days leading up to it. The AAP is offering resources to help ease feelings of remembered trauma and loss, to encourage healthy discussion around the day, and to reassure children by telling them what their families, schools and government officials do to keep them safe.
“Kids are resilient. But the adults in their lives need to be aware that at times like these, children and teens may have questions or need help processing their feelings,” said Steven Krug, MD, FAAP, Chair of the AAP’s Disaster Preparedness Advisory Council. He added, “When reacting to or remembering disasters, children should be encouraged to take positive actions, and should be included in conversations about how we not only should prepare for adversity, but how we can learn from it and make things better.”
In addition to the upcoming anniversary, September is National Preparedness Month, an ideal time to have some of these discussions in the home and community.
Regarding disasters, pediatricians can be helpful to their patients and their communities both in preparing for children’s needs and responding to them. The AAP offers the following resources:
• How to prepare for disasters in the home and community, including a list of what to keep in a disaster kit and what your town needs to have in place http://www.aap.org/family/frk/frkit.htm
• A video chat on the importance of considering children in basic disaster preparedness and discussing it with them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X17rhAUQKp4&feature=related
• A discussion of why it is important to monitor children’s exposure to violent or traumatic images and stories in the media around the time of a disaster (video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VrrAg2jHGo&feature=related
• Tools and tips for talking to kids about disasters http://www.aap.org/disasters/adjustment.cfm
• Advice for parents about children’s mental health needs after a disaster (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3X74GkdeKo
These and many other tips, tools and articles related to specific kinds of disasters can be found on the new National Preparedness Month page of AAP Web site at http://www.aap.org/disasters/natl-preparedness.cfm
More articles for parents are available on the AAP’s Healthy Children Web site at:
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Getting-Your-Family-Prepared-for-a-Disaster.aspx
At federal, state and local levels, the AAP advocates for adequate systems to ensure that the needs of children—nearly 25 percent of the U.S. population—will be met in disaster response and recovery efforts. Assessing and planning for these needs presents unique challenges, and the AAP urges greater attention to these needs in the context of government planning and exercises; medical capabilities; training of first responders; and preparedness levels of hospitals, government agencies, schools, communities and homes.
The AAP supports the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), a law first enacted in 2006 to improve the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response capabilities for emergencies. As the legislation moves through Congress, the AAP urges leaders in Washington, D.C. to redouble efforts to prioritize the needs of children, including children with special heath care needs. For more information go to http://www.aap.org/disasters/policymakers.cfm#legislation
As every family ponders the messages of the 9-11 anniversary and National Preparedness Month, the AAP reminds parents to consider their own pediatrician as a resource when it comes to helping children at difficult times.
According to Dr. Krug, “As the nation remembers together, it is important to show children and teens how the adults in their lives are securing their future.”
The AAP is a partner in the National Preparedness Month Coalition.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.
It’s that time again. How time flies when you’re having fun giving immunizations to millions of screaming babies while pacifying the sobbing new moms! As a nurse, it’s a challenging task giving pediatric immunizations; especially when they are either, holding their breath, kicking you in the crotch, or screaming so loud you know damage is occurring to your eardrums. And sometimes the kids will do all this stuff too!
