 and get a FREE GIFT!
|
|
|
| Top Stories for Thu, Aug 28, 2008
|
You should see what they are doing on your PC while you are away!
 |
BeAware acts as a surveillance camera, capturing screen shots on your computer automatically. BeAware monitors all computer activity by showing you exactly what appears on the screen as frequently as you set it to do so. Use it to protect your child's saftey, check up on loved ones, see if a spouse is being faithful - the possiblities are endless! click for more...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Talking With Your Kids About Disasters
|
Parent Alert #5:
Talking With Your Kids About Disasters
The recent terrorist attacks in the USA have left parents struggling to communicate appropriately about it to their questioning kids. If you are a parent, guardian or teacher of children and you feel lost about how to do it, the advice below will help you to cope better. Here is your chance to discover just how useful the internet really is!
Advice for those with children in their care
1. Don’t pretend it isn’t happening. Unless your children are very young they will likely already be well aware of the disaster.
2. Encourage your child to talk with you about how they are feeling and thinking. If you don’t invite them to talk with you, they may not ask you about it and then you will be leaving them to their own silent fears.
3. Be careful how you talk about the disaster around your children. They may well take their cues from you, therefore if you loudly express anger or hatred of certain races, religions or nationalities, you may be unknowingly creating prejudice in your children.
4. It is a good idea to limit your children's viewing of the news and its disturbing images. Children do not need to see the same catastrophic images over and over again. If you wish your child to watch news reports of the disaster, sit with them and share the experience. Don’t just leave the TV on and leave the room.
5. Communicate in age-appropriate ways. If your teens want explanations, then don’t palm them off with vague talk about "evil people" somewhere out there in the world.
6. Reassure them that they are safe. Even your tough talking teens will be feeling the emotional impact of such a huge tragedy and will secretly need some reassurance that the adults aren’t about to bring the world to an end.
7. Use this opportunity to go over your family’s own emergency plan in case of earthquake, fire or other disaster. This will show your children that even though disasters can happen in the world, the adults are prepared and know what to do.
8. Focus on the positive. If you talk about what’s happening, talk also about the bravery of the emergency services on the scene, the wonderful community spirit of the millions of people donating blood, the heroic figure of Mayor Giuliani who is there at Ground Zero sharing the struggle and coordinating the rescue efforts, or the Police officer who fell from the 82nd floor and survived. Use the opportunity to remind your children how good human beings are at surviving disasters. Remember, a disaster also brings out the best in people.
9. Continue with familiar routines. Don’t lock your children up in the house, afraid to let them out. They need to know that the world is still here, and that it is full of beauty and wonder, as well as violence and grief.
10. Stay calm but do not be afraid to share your emotions with your children. They will most likely already be aware if you are sad or fearful.
11. Be aware that many highly explicit and disturbing images that are not even permitted to be shown on TV will be available on the internet’s world wide web. If your child has open and unsupervised access to the world wide web, they might well come across a huge amount of such pictures, either accidentally or deliberately. If you are OK with your child looking for news on the disaster on the world wide web, you would be wise to sit with them so that they don’t get exposed to inappropriate images.
12. The Internet is not all bad. It is a powerful communication device. Use the world wide web to learn how best to communicate with your child during these challenging times. We can all take this opportunity to become better parents, guardians or teachers. There are a number of truly excellent websites on parents, kids and disasters listed below.
Resources
Coping with Children’s Reactions to Disaster—From the New York City Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management.
PBS KIDS—Resources for Parents, with focus on disasters and how parents can help their children cope.
PBS AMERICA RESPONDS—Classroom Resources (including lesson plans) for teachers.
Dealing With Death—PBS’s "In The Mix" provides resources for teens and encourages them to share their thoughts on bereavement and death.
How to Talk With Your Kids About the Tragedy—Sesame Street Website.
Tragic Times—Healing Words, Helping Your Children Cope with the Latest Disasters—Sesame Street website.
Coping With Crisis—Sesame Street website.
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood—Helping Kids Deal with Scary News.
Helping Kids Cope with Disasters
Coping with Children’s Reactions to Disasters
Psychosocial Issues for Children and Adolescents in Disasters.
Coping With Children's Reactions To Earthquakes And Other Disasters
Coping with Grief and Trauma—Information and resources to help young children who have experienced trauma or are experiencing grieving or loss.
FEMA—After a Disaster—How to Help Child Victims.
About Our Kids.org—Coping With Trauma.
Helping Children Cope with Severe Weather and Disasters—lots of useful links.
Helping.Org—How to Cope—Resources for parents and others caring for kids on disasters and how to cope.
Suggestions for Adults—Talking and Thinking with Children About the Terrorist Attacks.
<-- Back
|
|
|
|
|
Get Protected Early
