Helping a Child Cope With a Difficult Event

In this day and age, it’s becoming harder and harder to shield our children from the harsh realities of the world. Even if we manage to protect them from the dark side of the internet and bad events on the news, they’re still liable to hear about things at school or from their friends. In the end, as hard as we try to keep them protected, there’s just no getting around it. The untroubled innocence of childhood cannot last.

Disturbing news events are one thing. But when a traumatic event happens to a child or one of his or her family members, it becomes even more difficult to shield that child from the truth. Fortunately, many children tend to be resilient, but this is by no means always true. For example, one young child may respond to a death in the extended family as if it’s no big deal, while another may be deeply disturbed by the specter of death.

The key to helping children through these times is to take a balanced approach. We have to accept that there are only so many things we can do to protect our children from reality. And in the end, as they grow older it no longer makes sense to protect them. In order to grow into functioning members of society, young people have to acquire a familiarity with how the world works—and that includes all the bad things along with the good.

Until your child is ready to cope with difficult events, you might want to keep these techniques in mind:

1.Set a good example: Children learn by imitation. If you put up a calm and caring exterior, your child is likely to follow suit.

2.Keep things stable: As much as possible, try to provide your child with a very stable home environment. Kids are reassured by routine and familiarity, so try to give them these things as much as you can.

3.Keep communication open: Children are sometimes reluctant to talk about things, but this is an important aspect of their growth. If possible, try to encourage your children to talk about their feelings.

4.Don’t try to have all the answers: There are some things in the world that just can’t be explained, and this is especially true when it comes to things like natural disasters and the actions of bad people. If you can’t explain something, don’t be afraid to tell your child that there is no good reason why that event occurred.

5.Consider outside help: If your child can’t seem to get over the event, it may be that he or she has Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. In this case, the child should be brought to a mental health professional as soon as possible.