However, it is far better for kids to watch TV with parental guidance in order to ask questions and represent their emotional responses than do it alone, or even with peers. If a child does not want to see the graphic events, he or she should not have to. Feelings and Reactions Children express their feelings and reactions in different ways. Your acceptance of this will make a difference to how your child recovers form the trauma. This means accepting that some children will react by becoming withdrawn and unable to talk about the event, while others will feel intense sad and angry at times and at other times will act as if the disaster never happened.
Children are often confused about what has happened and about their feelings.
However, don t be surprised if some children don t seem to be affected by what they have seen or heard. Talking about what happened v Listen to and accept children s feelings. You may want to take time out and ask a trusted family friend to help. Younger children will not understand that death is permanent, so their repeated inquiries are because they expect everything to return to normal. If the child feels guilty, ask him or her to explain what happened.