Helping Parents Talk to Their Children About Current Events | Patient Centered Care and Trauma Informed Care for Pediatric Patients

Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress

As much as many parents would like to protect their children, we live in a world where disasters, both natural and otherwise, occur on a regular basis.

As much as many parents would like to protect their children, we live in a world where disasters, both natural and otherwise, occur on a regular basis. We also live in a world where these events are constantly replayed on various forms of media from the television to social media. While most children will show resilience, some may be affected by post traumatic stress symptoms.

As a pediatric healthcare worker, you can help guide parents on the best ways to support their children when these types of events happen and where parents can go should their child need additional support. Here are some basics tips to provide to parents:

Gather more information from child about where they heard/saw/read about the event or topic
Acknowledge the child's emotions and model appropriate coping techniques
Reassure the child's safety
Look for ways their child may be able to help victims (i.e. raising money or collecting food)

What advice do you give to parents concerning current events?

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