Talk About Tsunami With Your Children

In the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami, we Americans pray for the survivors -- particularly the injured, ill, and orphaned children. And we hug our own kids a little tighter.

They were spared, of course, from the tsunami's devastating direct effects. But few children have been spared from the graphic and disturbing images that every hour stream across the airwaves.

And those images do affect them, says Glenn G. Sparks, PhD, communications professor at Purdue University in Indiana. Sparks is an expert in children's reactions to frightening media images.

"We must acknowledge that the people who experienced the tsunami first-hand are the first to worry about," Sparks tells WebMD. "In comparison, it seems silly to worry about the emotional trauma in kids who are fine but watching TV. But there are issues in terms of children's exposure to these kinds of images."

TV Images Traumatic for Young Children

Media coverage of the tsunami can be tough on children aged 5 and younger, says Clarice Kestenbaum, MD. Kestenbaum is a child psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

"Unlike the genocides in Darfur and Rwanda, the tsunami deaths are being reported in graphic images that are repeatedly in front of you," Kestenbaum tells WebMD. "The images are very traumatic for young kids. Now they are all going to know something about this, so I am not saying we should pretend nothing is happening. It is important for them to know something bad happened, but far away -- and they are safe."

Parents, Kestenbaum stresses, should be careful not to express great anxiety in front of small children. If small children show concern about the tsunami, they should be reassured.

Extremely young children who have not yet learned of the tsunami need not be told, says Randall D. Marshall, MD, director of trauma studies and services for the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

"I have a 2-and-one-half-year-old girl we've shielded from this. But a 4- or 5-year-old will pick this up. You can't shield kids from this kind of thing," Marshall tells WebMD. "For very small children, keep it extremely simple. Emphasize their safety. Tell them that they are safe, that momma and poppa are going to keep you safe; that they will not let this happen to you."

But don't lie. Kids need the truth -- just not gruesome details.

"You can't say this is something that would never happen," Kestenbaum says. "I would tell them that we would be better prepared -- that we have lots of firemen and rescue workers and people who can help us if there is a disaster."

Parents' Common Mistake

Parents tend to make a mistake, Sparks says. They suppose that the older the child is, the less they have to be concerned about what they see in the media. This turns out not to be a good rule.