Symptoms of post-traumatic stress in children can sometimes go unnoticed, not easily recognized by adults.
Preschool
- Feelings of helplessness, uncertainty; renewed separation anxiety
- Fear may move into other aspects of life
- May regress developmentally
- Nightmares, fear of going to sleep
Parents can:
- Provide comfort, rest and opportunities to play or draw
- Provide reassurance that the trauma is over and child is safe
- Help children verbalize feelings
- Provide consistent caretaking
- Inform children of parents’ whereabouts for sense of security
School age
- Guilt or shame over what they did or didn’t do during the disaster
- Constant retelling of the traumatic event
- Sleep disturbances, fear of sleeping alone, nightmares
- Poor concentration at school
- Drop in school performance or attendance
- Headaches and stomachaches with no obvious cause
- Unusually reckless or aggressive behavior
Parents can:
- Encourage children to express fears, sadness and anger in supportive environment of the family
- Acknowledge that their feelings are normal
- Correct any distortions of the events that they express
Adolescents
- Feelings of fear, vulnerability and concern with being labeled “abnormal” or different from peers may cause withdrawal
- Shame and guilt about the event
- Fantasies of revenge and retribution
- May engage in self-destructive or accident-prone behavior
Parents can:
- Discuss the possible strain on relationships with family and peers and offer support with those challenges
- Discuss acting out behavior and thoughts of revenge and help formulate constructive alternatives that lessen the sense of helplessness
Source: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network