Sometimes the children in our life experience something frightening such as violence, medical procedures, natural disasters or motor vehicle accidents. They may experience them directly or witness them or even learn about it happening to an important person in that child’s life. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is when there are a set of signs that appear following the frightening experience.
Some things to be on the lookout for after the child has experienced something scary:
Play or other behavior that reenacts some aspect of the event
Repeated questions or statements about the event
Repeated nightmares (in children, these dreams may or may not be linked to the event)
A child may freeze or stare and be unresponsive at reminders of the event
Attempt to avoid anything related to the trauma
Mood changes
Difficulties sleeping
Hypervigilance, or being very aware of everything going on around him/her
Support your child by giving them space to play and talk about the frightening experience. It’s their way of processing and making sense of what happened! Don’t be afraid to talk to them about what happened in an age appropriate way. Young children will fill in the blanks about what they don’t know with what they think happened, and that may be wrong or be scarier than what actually occurred!
If your child has experienced something scary and you are concerned with how it has impacted them, please reach out for support.
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