TAMPA, Fla — Traumatic events like Hurricane Ian can weigh heavy on just about anyone, especially children who may not know how to process them.
Sarah Graves said that while her family is safe, talking about evacuating, watching the destruction Ian left behind and the uncertainty that comes with a natural disaster has been hard on her kids.
"My 6-year-old had a lot of anxiety recently that seemed to be set off by the hurricane and a lot of separation anxiety... She started refusing to go into the school building because she didn't want to be separated from me," Graves explained.
She said that at first, she didn’t know how to respond to her child feeling unsafe.
“It took a while to kind of figure out what was causing the anxiety and then kind of how to respond to it. So I think that's something that we're still kind of trying to figure out as a family," Graves added.
Seeing homes destroyed and hearing the death toll climb can be traumatic for children constantly exposed to it.
“Sit the child down on your lap or right next to on the couch, cuddled up, in a warm kind of environment, not a lot of distractions, and the parent can say, 'you know, I know you saw this on television, I know you saw these homes and they were destroyed. But that's not going to happen to us. Our house is safe, and you're okay here,'" the Associate Director of Champions for Children Nikki Daniels said.
Daniels said it’s important to not overexplain things either, as it can be overwhelming for a child.
“For kiddos that are not in a normal environment right now. They're not going to school. Their home is not okay. Their neighborhood is not safe. You really want to try to have as much normalcy as you can. Try to set a routine as much as you can," Daniels said.
Daniels said it’s okay if you feel like you don’t always validate your child’s feelings, but ongoing patterns can damage them emotionally and socially. It can make them feel unsafe and insecure, which tends to follow them into their adult lives.
“The more information that we can gather as parents, the better we can respond to these situations. So that would be kind of my feeling is, how can I educate myself to make sure that I know how to respond next time," Graves said.
