A crisis or traumatic event can turn the internal world upside down for a child or teenager.

For some, what they believe to be true about the world no longer seems to be true. Most commonly they thought the world was safe, fair and predictable and most children had a reasonable self esteem, believing they were strong, smart and worthwhile.

Traumatic events can destabilise children's beliefs about themselves and their world.

Children, from babies to teens, will vary in the level of distress they experience after a traumatic event. The impact may be due to factors within the child such as their personality and relationships with family members rather than factors such as the degree of contact or involvement with the traumatic events.

The information in this section may be useful if you are:

• a parent who was in a disaster
• a parent of a child who was in a disaster
• a friend of a child who has lost friends or family members in the disaster
• a parent of a child who has watched the news coverage and is asking questions or behaving in a way which is worrying you.

There is also information on Ways to help kids feel better.

Read through the information on Looking after yourself and Looking after others.

If things don't seem to be getting any easier have a look at Where to get help and see if it is worth talking with someone. There is no shame in asking for help. You can even do it anonymously on the support line.

Read the information on how you can help your child deal with trauma (PDF, 70Kb).

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