While we all wish we could protect our young people from traumatic events in our communities, the reality is that crises such as community violence, political unrest, and natural disasters are all too common. These situations disrupt the stability of life at home and at school and can deeply impact a child’s sense of safety and well-being.
Helping Kids Cope: What We Can Do
When crisis-level events happen around us, big feelings follow. Young kids, adolescents, and even adults can experience degrees of trauma, including confusing emotions, hyper-vigilance and heightened states of alertness, and/or shutdown or lethargy, making it hard to sleep, focus, or manage daily routines. As difficult as it can be to talk about these feelings, communication is a critical first step toward regulation and well-being.
One helpful approach is to lean on best practices in social-emotional learning and trauma-informed care. Using familiar tools like The Zones of Regulation can make these conversations easier. The Zones framework gives kids and adults a shared language and accessible visuals to identify emotions and explore regulation strategies.
Practical Tips for Families
- Start by naming feelings together. When children of all ages (and grown-ups) can identify what they are feeling, it helps them feel understood and supported. Sometimes simply naming the feeling helps us begin to feel better.
- Normalize strong and/or uncomfortable emotions. Let kids know it’s okay to feel scared, sad, overwhelmed, or angry during uncertain times. Sharing your own feelings helps to model self-awareness and emotional safety.
- Practice regulation strategies as a family. Breathing exercises, walks, screen breaks, family games, and calm activities can help everyone feel more grounded.
Helpful Resources:
Big Events, Big Feelings: A Family Conversation Guide:
This guide offers a conversation starter for caregivers to use during difficult times. It includes tools to help children name emotions, connect with caregivers, and try regulation strategies together.
Download this Resource
For Zones of Regulation Digital Curriculum Users:
Teaching or reviewing Concept 6: Situations that Trigger and Spark can help kids connect community events with their feelings and open up conversations about managing strong emotions.
Additional Resources for Responding to Community Crises:
- The National Child Traumatic Stress Network – nctsn.org
- How to Talk with Kids About Tragedies & Other Traumatic News Events – Healthychildren.org
- Sesame Workshop- Community Violence – Sesameworkshop.org
- When Violence Goes Viral: Helping Kids Cope with What They See Online –Â Sparkandstitchinstitute.com
