Helping Children Who Hurt after the Disaster 1. Incorporate healing activities into the classroom. After a disaster, children need physical, tangible ways to experience and express grief. Acting out or writing their disaster story can offer relief. Talk about how the disaster has changed their personal history and the history of the community to help children understand that they are not alone in their loss.
Rituals are very important.
Perhaps all the children in the class can work together to create a ritual or ceremony to commemorate their losses and their hopes for the future. These kinds of activities may adapt well to English, Social Science, or History classes. Look out for depression. In the months after the disaster, distress may settle into depression for both parents and children. Childhood depression doesn't look like adult depression, but it is important to diagnose.