Whether children live near the scene of the tragedy or they are exposed to it from a distance through the media, they will be affected. Children will exhibit signs of fear. They will be asking questions, having nightmares, wanting to sleep with parents and may be afraid to go out side or go to school. The also may become irritable or display oppositional behavior. Children will take their cues on how to handle this situation from the adults in their life as well as their peers.
Time does at least help heal all wounds.
You can help the healing process by being open, understanding and reassuring. We hope that the articles below will assist you to help your child and yourself cope with this horrible tragedy. In the eyes of children School was barely under way in classrooms across the region on Tuesday morning when students were faced with the horror of terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and the crash of a hijacked plane just south of Pittsburgh. Every day since then, grown-ups dealing with their own trauma have struggled to find the best ways to help young people deal with the tragedy. For every adult who worries that children know too much, there is a child who wants to know more.