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Communicating With Children About Disasters
The events of September 11th affected everyone personally in some way.
Children were also affected, and probably more than we think. Just
from watching news broadcasts children have been impacted in ways we are
only beginning to notice. Teachers
are even reporting that in art classes, small children are drawing
chilling pictures of the Twin Towers with planes crashing into them.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has released some points of advice
to assist in helping children's emotional health. These points were
published on September 12, 2001 on the Intelihealth web site. The points
they advise are:
- It's important to communicate to children that they're safe. Given
what they may have seen on television, they need to know that the
violence is isolated to certain areas and they will not be harmed.
Parents should try to assure children that they've done everything
they can to keep their children safe.
- Adolescents in particular can be hard hit by these kinds of events
and parents might want to watch for signs such as: sleep disturbances,
fatigue, lack of pleasure in activities enjoyed previously, and
initiation of illicit substance abuse.
- Overexposure to the media can be traumatizing. It's unwise to let
children or adolescents view footage of traumatic events over and
over. Children and adolescents should not watch these events alone.
- Adults need to help children understand the significance of these
events. Discussion is critical. It should be stressed that the
terrorist acts are ones of desperation and horror - and that they're
not about politics or religion. Children should know that lashing out
at members of a particular religious or ethnic group will only cause
more harm.
Chiropractors also recognize that this time of stress effects, and is
affected by nervous interference from subluxations. It is therefore
very important that children be chiropractically checked for subluxations
and adjusted as needed.
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