A significant number of children and families will experience a trauma.

A traumatic event can be defined as an experience that is frightening, dangerous, or including violence that poses a threat to someone’s life or bodily integrity.

Traumatic events can include physical abuse, sexual abuse, community/school violence, domestic violence, medical trauma, natural and human-made disasters, suicides, motor vehicle accidents, witnessing a traumatic event, and other traumatic losses. 

A child’s reaction to a traumatic experience can vary in nature. Most children will express some level of distress or behavioral change in the acute recovery phase following a traumatic event. 

Some common trauma responses include:

• Sadness/depression

• Development of new fears

• Separation anxiety

• Irritability/anger

• Reduced attention/concentration

• Difficulty with schoolwork

• Change in appetite

• Sleep disturbance/nightmares

• Somatic complaints

• Preoccupation

For most children, these symptoms will dissipate over time and the child will return to their prior levels of functioning. However, if you are noticing that after a few months these symptoms aren’t subsiding or are getting worse, it may be time to seek support from a professional psychologist or counselor. Some children will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and those who do can recover. A psychologist can help your child to learn to cope with traumatic stressors and adapt to and overcome such experiences. 

As a parent, you may not know how to help your child through a traumatic event, especially if you were involved in the situation. It’s important to note that how you as a parent cope with the crisis yourself and how you react to your child’s feelings and behaviors will have an enormous impact on their ability to heal. Oftentimes, parents find that meeting individually with a counselor can be key in their recovery, as the psychologist or counselor will provide you with practical strategies for supporting your child in their recovery.