October 2005 - Tower - Page 11
Notes From the
Bette C. Jones, RN
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Helping Children Cope with Natural Disasters
While hundreds of thousands of children will
be directly affected by the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina, children throughout the
country will experience distress as they hear
of friends and family who have suffered and
as they watch displaced people on TV.
Parents and other adults can take steps to
help children cope with their fears and to live
with hope.
TEN SUGGESTIONS
- Allow children to express their
concerns through artwork and play.
- Pray with children for those affected
by the hurricane.
- Limit children's exposure to television
coverage of the disaster.
- Give children something concrete to
do. For example, let children help
purchase and assemble health kits,
layettes, etc. Check with United
Methodist agencies on the Internet or
the church office for instructions.
- Develop a family disaster plan for the
types of natural disasters that may
happen in your area. Role-play some
possible situations. Knowing that you
are prepared will help children cope
with fears that they may find
themselves separated from family in
the event of a disaster.
- Talk with children about what has
happened, helping them to identify
their feelings. Ask them what they
have heard about the disaster from
other children. Sometimes children
have heard wildly inaccurate
information from their peers that
needs to be corrected to alleviate
fears that have no basis for reality.
- Discuss openly with children what
your family and church are doing to
help those who have been hurt by the
disaster.
- Older children may find it helpful to
write about what they are feeling.
Suggest keeping a journal on paper
or computer.
- Let children use puppets to express
their feelings.
- Do low-key activity together, such as
assembling a puzzle, playing a board
game, or baking cookies. These
activities create space for children to
talk. Children often find it easier to
talk about important things while their
hands are engaged in something
else.
General Board of Discipleship of The United
Methodist Church
XYZ to meet October 26
Billie Way, Coordinator
Now fall is here and the hot summer has
faded; it is time to get back to XYZ. Our
October meeting will be Wednesday,
October 26 at 12:00 noon in the Fellowship
Hall. It will be a covered-dish luncheon. Our
speaker will talk with us about symptoms to
take note of - in ourselves and others. This
is a topic that may prove important, so all
are invited.
October 30
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