and open the floor to their questions and let their questions take them where they need to go. They likely don't need to know all the statistics that the news is sharing. They may be more interested in what is happening to pets or how kids can get to a hospital. Most likely, kids will need to know how this disaster will affect them or could affect them. Stick with answering their questions and you'll keep your children safe. Expect a follow-up, or two A day or so after we shared the Haitian earthquake in 2010 with our kids, my 4 year old came to me saying "I don't know what an Earthquake is." It turned out that he'd been thinking about it off and on through the day before, rolling around the possibilities and the answers we'd given then. But his persona is one that needs to know how things happen. So we took that opportunity to explain fault lines and the earth shifting. Had we shared all of this when we told him about the quake, he might have been overwhelmed with facts. He asked when he was ready. Offer ways you can help as a family As Pennsylvanian's we were fortunate during Hurricane Sandy. Our house had minimal damage and we never lost power. We know it could have been much worse. During the worst of the storm, my kids and I cleaned out their closets, trying on clothing and setting things aside to give to charity.