Pay attention to the symptoms in children after the earthquake!
Psychologists from Izmit Municipality stressed the importance of psychological support for children exposed to the reality of the earthquake through social media, televisions and the environment. By explaining how parents will manage the process of reducing the traumatic effects of an earthquake on children, psychologists underlined that it is normal for children to have emotional reactions.
Psychologist Kerim Alpİlter stated that because children do not know how to think abstractly, much of the earthquake must be explained concretely. , they can say they will try to protect them. This will put the kids at ease. Children usually look after their parents.
Therefore, the anxiety level of parents is very important. When the parents are calm, the children are usually calm too. Children can show facts such as injury and death due to earthquakes in their games. At this point, parents should calmly try to listen to their children’s feelings and thoughts. They should also not interfere too much with the games. If the games get too long, they can adjust their games to finish better. It is normal for children and adults to have emotional reactions in the first 30 days. If these reactions continue to increase at the end of 30 days, you should definitely seek help from a specialist.
Psychologist Göksu Aymergen, who stressed that the earthquake fact should be discussed with children, said: “Even though they do not mainly live in the earthquake area, they are exposed to events from social media, televisions or their parents’ conversations. They are very responsive at the moment. This does not mean that they are not affected by the event, problems such as crying spells, difficulty entering the house and the inability to leave the parent can occur.
The reason for the appearance of these symptoms is a sense of insecurity. To overcome this feeling, it is important to talk about these events and have one-on-one contact with the child. Feelings can be discussed instead of describing the events in detail. The child should be told that these feelings are normal. To begin with, a photo can be taken with the child. Instead of saying there is nothing to be afraid of, it should be said that you understand. In this process, it is essential to instill in the child a sense of confidence. While explaining the process to the child, it is important to explain it in a simple and basic level depending on the age. I hope we get through this process in the most harmless and healthy way possible,” he said.