Hurricane Health Tips: Stress, Children & Teens
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line.
Stress Reactions
Stress reactions are a natural response both before and after a hurricane. The ability of children and teens to cope with a disaster may vary depending upon their age. However, children who have been sufficiently prepared and whose parents handle the disaster well, generally will have less severe and more temporary reactions.
Hurricane Readiness
Talk with your children prior to hurricane season. Teach them some basic concepts about weather and its effects in terms they can understand. Use the television news or pictures in magazines as teaching tools. Explain that a hurricane is a difficult situation but that it can be handled. Never dismiss a question.
Prepare children for the reality of a hurricane. Just as you would have a fire drill, have a similar drill for a hurricane. Make preparation plans which will be readily accepted.
- Encourage children to listen and follow instructions.
- Make plans of what you would do if a hurricane is eminent.
- Go through steps for safety, show them the most protected areas of the house to wait out the storm, etc.
- Have them make a list of the important items they want to pack for safekeeping.
- Participation of children prior to the onset of a hurricane makes them feel less vulnerable and more confident.
- Let them help you assemble an emergency kit, pack your important items or shop for hurricane provisions.
- Have them pack their favorite clothes and toys in plastic bags to protect from water damage.
- Give them their own flashlight.
Children naturally look to parents for reassurance; the more quickly it comes, the faster the emotional wounds heal.
Recognize that small children may not be able to verbalize their fears and anxieties. When they are afraid, they are most fearful of being left alone. So include them in your activities following a hurricane. Do not leave them alone in an evacuation center while you go back to tend to the damage. This will help alleviate a "clinging" behavior. Plus, when they see you coping, they will adapt too.
Listen continuously and reassure children who are afraid. Do not minimize or ignore their feelings. When they feel their parents are not understanding of their fear, children tend to feel ashamed, rejected, unloved and then even more afraid. Explain about the disaster in words they can understand. It's okay to let them know you are afraid too. Sharing encourages children to talk about their own feelings. Remind them you are together and safe. Listen and answer their questions. You may need to do this over and over again. Show signs of reassurance by holding and touching them. Spend extra time with them at bedtime.
Encourage children to talk. Provide an atmosphere of acceptance in which they feel free to express their anxieties. Include family, friends or other children in the discussions. Allow children to express themselves without fear of judgment or indication of expectations. Another way of talking, but silently, is to have children draw pictures of the events surrounding the hurricane. Ask them what the pictures are.
Allow your children to mourn or grieve over a lost toy, a missing blanket and the loss of damage to your home.
If you feel your child is having problems adjusting at home or at school, talk to the teacher so that you can work together on the problems.
Take note that children may feel edgy when bad weather reoccurs. Do something enjoyable on those days to replace fear with pleasant memories.
Get back to a routine as quickly as possible. This indicates to your children that you are maintaining control, another sign of coping. Implementing meal schedules, planning calming pre-bedtime activities and reinstating a specific time for going to bed will revitalize family structure and help provide a sense of security for your children.
After the Hurricane
Stress reactions may appear in your children days, weeks or even months after a hurricane strikes. You know your children best and will be aware of unusual or excessive changes in attitudes or behavior.
Remember, these reactions and symptoms are normal after a disaster. Usually they will disappear slowly, without psychological assistance. If they last longer than two weeks or they are very intense, where a child seems to be having extended difficulties in handling everyday functions, professional help should be arranged. If you are financially unable to acquire professional help, crisis counseling is provided free of charge to disaster victims through the Departments of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS).
Some of the most common signs and symptoms of stress in children are:
Children 1-5
- Regressive behavior such as thumb sucking, loss of bladder or bowel control, excessive crying, etc.
- Persistent fears of being left alone, darkness, strangers, loud noises, weather, animals, etc.
- Irritability
- Confusion
- Sadness
- Immobility
- Disobedience
- Nightmares
- Clinging
- Regressive behavior: behaving in a manner they did when they were younger
- Persistent fear about weather and safety
- Irritability
- Confusion
- Headaches and other physical complaints
- Inability to concentrate
- Nightmares/sleep problems
- Not wanting to attend school or poor performance in school
- Depression
- Withdrawal from peers
- Fighting
- Significant behavior changes such as stealing, rebellion, refusal to do chores, aggression, etc.
- Fear of storms
- Confusion
- Headaches and other physical complaints
- Inability to concentrate
- Sleep disturbance
- Poor performance in school or athletics
- Withdrawal or isolation
- Changes or loss of interest in friends and activities
- Appetite disturbance
- Apathy
- Depression
We would like to acknowledge and thank Raquel E. Cohen, M.D., MPH, professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and director, The Children's Center Office of the State Attorney, Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, for her contribution to the information provided on this page.
