For months, we've heard forecasters say they expect this year's Atlantic hurricane season to be highly active — ranking among the busiest on record.
NOAA predicts there could be 17 to 24 named storms before the season ends on Nov. 30. Of those, between four and seven are likely to become major hurricanes.
But for children, hearing words like "disaster" or "explosive" when referring to hurricanes can be scary.
“People talk about hurricanes, they give it a name, and this storm … sort of becomes almost human and it has an eye,” said clinical psychologist Andrew Rosen, founder of the Children’s Center for Psychiatry, Psychology and Related Services in Delray Beach.
“And this eye, for a child, feels like this is a monster coming.”
Rosen added that this can lead to hurricane anxiety, which can have physical or emotional symptoms.
Some of the physical symptoms include headaches, trembling, vomiting, nightmares or trouble sleeping. Emotional symptoms can manifest as children being whiny, clingy, crying, afraid to be in a room alone or talking nonstop about a previous storm.
Rosen said to help protect children from overexperiencing the dangerous aspect of hurricane season, it’s necessary to explain that people get emergency supplies to be prepared for hurricanes if they come and not be alarmed in the preparation process.
“I use this example all the time — most places have a fire extinguisher, right? That fire extinguisher is there just in case, but it doesn't increase the likelihood that we're going to have a fire … but we have it just in case,” Rosen said.
Children can 'read' people who look afraid
Rosen gives these tips on telling children about hurricanes:
- Explain that hurricanes are part of life and nature.
- Stay factual and don’t exaggerate what’s going to happen.
- Be as calm as possible and don’t have conversations in a scary manner, even if the children are not in the room. “Children pick up on conversations that you don't necessarily think they're hearing, and they also kind of 'read' people , so they can tell when parents look scared or are overly worried about things.”
- Shift the focus from words like “disaster” and “explosive” to resiliency and recovery. “It's important to convey that after a bad thing, there could be good things … otherwise it feels like there's no end to this thing.”
- Ask the child if there is anything they want to include in the hurricane preparedness supply list to give them extra security.
- Do not dismiss or invalidate their fears. Address questions the child might have.
Rosen encourages families to try to live life as normally as possible while there is no hurricane but also during the hurricane. If possible, it is helpful to include familiar games and other activities.
“You wouldn't want to just kind of hunker down and not do anything, because that lets the brain overthink,” Rosen said.
When the storm passes
After a hurricane, Rosen said it’s important to get children to express what the experience was like for them and how they feel, and get them to speak about their fears by asking specific questions.
“Most of all, it's reminding the child it's over. The feelings are still there. Yes, the repairs we're doing are still going on. Yes, it may be hard to sleep for a few nights because of memory and rehearsing it and reviewing it, but the actual event is over,” Rosen said.
He added it’s beneficial to return to normalcy as quickly as possible: “We all rely on routine to feel calm and to feel in control, and children even more so love routine.
“Don't assume that when the storm's over for you, that the storm is over for the child. It may still be having some ripple effects for some time.”
Parent should consider seeking professional care for their child if anxiety symptoms — like difficulty sleeping and eating — go on for more than a couple of weeks, depending the severity of the situation.
Types of therapy available
A children’s psychologist can give tips on how to help children better recover.
For ages 3 to 6, a lot of the recovery work is done through the parents, Rosen said. This involves teaching them what not to do and what to look for. from the child.
He said that for ages 7 and older, psychologists often use a technique called play therapy that involves games for children who have a harder time verbalizing fears or issues.
“Through play, they tend to act out whatever those fears and anxieties are, and then the trained therapist can identify in the play what's going on and be able to respond to those fears and anxieties through play,” Rosen said.
For older kids, cognitive behavior therapy may be used. This provides tools to fight the kind of thinking that keeps them anxious, worried or fearful.
“ It's not like where you give drugs for this. It's much more helping a child kind of develop some defense mechanisms and coping skills. They help fight off the fear of the unknown because we all have fear of the unknown,” Rosen said.
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