Hurricane season can be a scary time for kids. It’s confusing to evacuate and leave personal belongings behind. Adults in the home may be stressed out by the weather updates. How can you help younger family members work their way through these stressful times?

Education Resources:

When kids learn in advance, they’ll have a better understanding of what’s taking place when disaster strikes. Some great resources for your family to check out together include:

Weather Wiz Kids
www.weatherwizkids.com
See what makes weather tick in easy-to-understand terms and hands-on experiments.

FEMA for Kids
www.fema.gov/kids
Find out ways to help prepare for hurricane season.

How Stuff Works: Hurricanes
science.howstuffworks.com/hurricane.htm
Get answers to a lot of commonly-asked hurricane questions from this award-winning website.

Red Cross
"Disaster Preparedness Coloring Book" (English) or
ARC 2200S, Spanish (for children ages 3-10)

StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes
http://stormstruck.com/
An interactive weather experience.

Making Plans for the Family:

• Involve children in emergency planning, such as checking supplies and writing a shopping list.
• Follow suggestions or warnings by emergency services for the care and safety of your child.
• Use simple and matter-of-fact language to discuss safety steps.
• Play “let’s pretend...” games with young children to help them work out “what if” situations.

Evacuating with Your Family:

• Pack a small bag or box of supplies with games, books and hobby items.
• Remember diapers, food and drinks for kids.
• Bring a favorite toy or stuffed animal to help children feel more secure.

Coping with Emotions:

Even after families are out of danger, children may remain afraid. Research indicates that fears vary with age, maturity and previous experiences. Four major fears common in children are: death, darkness, animals and abandonment. Children are likely to experience three of these major fears during a storm which impacts their ability to cope for some time. Emotional support from parents is critical, well after the storm is over.

• Children mirror their parents’ anxieties, so be calm to help reduce your childrens' fears.
• Listen to fears and reassure children often and repeatedly.
• Encourage them to talk and ask questions, but limit discussion to basic facts.
• Spend extra time before bedtime; leave a door open and night-light on.
• Maintain close contact. Hold and touch your child.
• Don’t discipline for unusual signs of anxiety during a crisis, like bedwetting or thumb-sucking.
• Do not lie to children about the dangers. Reassure them that you are focused on their safety.
• Be cautious of permitting young children to watch or listen to news.
• Allow for mourning and grieving over the loss of meaningful items.

If You Must Leave Your Child:

Children who have been through a disaster are afraid of being separated from family and left alone. Avoid separation, even to go to the store. If you must leave children with friends or relatives, reassure them:

• Let your child know how long you will be away.
• Let your child know how often you will be in touch with him or her.
• Keep in touch with your child frequently and as regularly as you promised.
• Make sure your child’s needs are being met.

Tune In To Your Child:

Some children may need additional help in coping with a hurricane. Their behaviors may indicate additional problems. Following a disaster some children may:

• Be upset at the loss of a favorite toy, blanket or pet.
• Be angry. They might hit, throw, kick to show their anger.
• Become more active or restless and experience nightmares.
• Be afraid of the hurricane recurring.
• Want to sleep with a parent or other person.
• Have symptoms of illness such as nausea, vomiting, headaches, lack of appetite.
• Be quiet and withdrawn.
• Become easily upset, frequently crying and whining.
• Feel guilty that they caused the disaster because of some previous behavior.
• Feel neglected by parents who are busy trying to clean-up and rebuild.
• Refuse to go to school or to child care.
• Become afraid of loud noises, rain, storms.
• Not show any outward signs of being upset.

Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center
Department of Emergency Management
Citizen Information Center
(727) 464-3800
(during an emergency activation call (727) 464-4333)