Summarize the following:
A child can be impacted by a traumatic event but keep it bottled up inside out of a misguided need to be strong or courageous for family, or fear of upsetting others. They should have opportunities to talk about their feelings about the event, and they should also have opportunities to do fun things completely unrelated to it. Tell your child that they can come to you if they have fears, questions, or things they want to talk about. If your child does so, give them your full attention and validate their feelings. If the traumatic event made the news (e.g. a school shooting or natural disaster), reduce your child's exposure to media sources, and monitor their use of the internet and TV. Repeated exposure to the event on the news can make it harder for the child to recover. Providing emotional support can reduce your child's risk of developing trauma, or make the trauma less severe than it could have been. Some children may not give evidence for being upset for several weeks or even months. Avoid rushing a child to explore and express their feelings. It can take time for some children to process what has happened. The responses, reactions and abilities of those immediately responsible for a child influence the child's ability to cope with a traumatic occurrence. While your love and support is very helpful, sometimes children need more than this to help them recover from terrifying events. Don't be afraid to seek help for your child. The types of therapy likely to assist recovery for your child include psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, cognitive-behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). If the traumatic event happened to multiple family members, or if you think the family could use help, look into family therapy. While it is only natural for you to want to try to be the support for your child, going it alone will make it harder on you, especially if you have also experienced the traumatic event. Your child will pick up on it if you're distressed or scared, and will take their cues from you, so self-care is a necessity. Take time to talk about what's going on with your loved ones, like your spouse and friends. Talking about your feelings can help you deal with them and feel less alone. Look into support groups if you or a loved one is going through something very difficult. If you're feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself what you need right now. Do you need a warm shower, a cup of coffee, a hug, 30 minutes with a good book? Take good care of yourself. Family members, friends, therapists, teachers, and others can all support your child and your family in coping with the aftermath of the traumatic event. You are not alone, and neither is your child. You can help a great deal by seeking to restore a routine as soon as possible, continuing to feed your child a nutritious diet and helping your child maintain play and exercise schedules that ensure connections with others of their own age and body movement for good health. Try to get your child moving (taking walks, going to the park, swimming, jumping on a trampoline, etc.) at least once per day. Ideally, 1/3 of your child's plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables that they like eating. What does your child need right now? How can you support them today? Just like coping with the past is important, enjoying the present is important too.
Be aware that even if a child does not display any or a few of these symptoms, that doesn't mean they're coping. Assume that a child who has been part of a traumatic event needs to be cared for with extra attention to helping them through the event. Keep an eye out, even if signs of trauma don't show up right away. Seek help for signs of trauma as soon as possible. Have your child see a counselor or psychologist if they seem to be struggling to cope. Look into what type of therapy would be right for your child. Don't try to cope alone. Encourage your child's interaction with others. Support your child's health. Be available for your child in the here and now.