Helping Children Overcome Fear of Storms
I am sitting at my desk in Florida. Florida, whose nickname is “The Sunshine State,” has been anything but sunny for the last few weeks. Tropical storms and hurricanes have been in our weather forecast constantly. I’ve watched intently as Gustav made his way up the Gulf Coast, leaving flood waters, downed trees, power outages, and destruction in his path. Now as Hanna and Ike bear down on the United States, we’ve secured our home and gathered emergency equipment, food and water in the event that any of these storms hit us. We cautiously wait and watch as the storms churn around us, our nerves a little frazzled and our anxiety levels heightened. We are alert and ready to take action if necessary.
Young children are very susceptible to fear and anxiety about storms, too. This is particularly true if they:
• have had direct experience with a bad storm in the past.
• are sensitive to your heightened anxiety.
• have a vivid imagination.
• see and hear about the storm on TV.
So, I’m wondering what preschool teachers and parents do to reassure children and help them overcome their fears. This is such an important topic, I’d love to hear what you’ve done that works.
Here are 2 comments from parents in Orlando:
Alaina: As much as possible, I try to keep to our regular schedule. It makes my daughter feel more secure and heads off those “I’m over-tired tears.” Bedtime is the hardest time, so I make sure that we eat at our regular time, bathe, and get ready for bed as we always do. Then, we snuggle up together and I read Emily’s favorite story – Good Night Moon.
Carissa: We prepared for the storms by securing patio furniture, garbage cans, and other objects that might become airborne projectiles. Since Spencer loves to build things, I alleviated the tension by bringing the patio furniture into the playroom and letting him build forts with it. It kept him busy and his mind off the wind and the rain outside.
Please take a minute to share your experiences and suggestions.
Amy Moon said,
September 11, 2008 @ 9:22 am
I have 4 year-old twins. They both knew big storms were coming, as we had the television channeled to the news stations. At one point I remember one of them expressing anxiety and saying “I’m scared of the big storm.” But I took them outside, we looked up at the sky and talked about the clouds, rain, etc. I said that it was going to be windy and rainy but how fun! Get our flashlights out! They were actually very good about the whole experience. It helped, too, that at school they talked about the weather. Now, with other storms forming far away, they aren’t showing much interest.
Jenny said,
September 23, 2008 @ 11:23 am
My 8 year old twin boys have always been very interested in the weather. They still have vivid memories of hurricane Charley and consider themselves “experts” when it comes to preparing for a storm. Even so, they become very anxious when there is an approaching storm. In addition to letting them help with preparations such as buying supplies, and securing property, we make sure they have their own flashlights with extra batteries and let them have access to the news channels. They like to keep track of the storms and keep their older brothers and sisters and their classmates and teacher abreast of all developments.
Christie said,
September 24, 2008 @ 8:54 am
As the mother of five children, strategy is always key! If one child gets upset, it is easy for all the others to follow suit. We tried to help our kids prepare for storms by talking about them when we saw the national news or in books we’d read about weather and storms. Often, you hear about severe storms in other areas and see pictures. We’d talk about what we were seeing, how that affects people, and things people do to protect themselves in a storm. Then when a storm would come to us, it helped to focus on what other people did and turn the attention off of the kids’ own fears.
Allison said,
September 24, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
We have a designated place in the basement for taking shelter during storms. When storms are approaching, I let my youngest build a fort with pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags. Then we gather flashlights, toys, and stacks of books to read. He gets so engrossed in playing that he forgets about the weather.