Hurricane Katrina & Young Viewers

Every
day for more than a week, a class of middle school kids have seen
destruction and despair.

“And I’m just wondering if anybody wants to share
what you thought about it,” says their teacher, opening up
a discussion.

For some…

Hurricane Katrina was personal.

One boy has a family friend in New Orleans…

“And right now she has nothing, she doesn’t have
any money, she doesn’t have a house, she has like, nothing,” he
says.

But even kids who live hundreds, or thousands of miles away may
still feel anxious, helpless, afraid.

“It’s just scary to think that something that big
could happen,” says 13-year-old Issac Sukin.

“Like what if like all my friends and all my family was
just wiped out. I’d be pretty scared, I’d be like whoa
where went my world,” says 13-year-old Annie Onnot.

“I think it’s just scary how hurricanes or any kind
of storms could just hit people and let people die,” adds
13-year-old Jonathan Allen.

Experts say, first. Parents need to let their kids know… they’re
not alone.

“I think it’s o-k to share the shock and dismay and
sadness that they might be feeling about what’s going on,” says
Psychologist Tony Levitas, Psy.D., “To let kids know it’s
o-k to have a lot of different feeling about what’s happening.”

But also explain, he says, though it will take time and enormous
help, the people will recover.

“You know throughout time we’ve survived all kinds
of devastation and managed to get through it,” says Dr. Levitas, “I
think an important message for kids to know about is that we humans
are resilient. We get through time and it’s important to
hang in there.”

Jonathan says he intends to help some of the victims. “We’re
doing stuff to like help them… and I’m going to try
to do some things, send some things over there also.”

“Media literacy” is a phrase you may not have heard much
about. It’s mainly used by educators to help children understand what
they see on television, hear on the radio, and read in newspapers and magazines.
Following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many parents are becoming interested
in media literacy because they want to help their children sort through the
shocking images and determine what they can do to help. When watching movies
or television shows featuring fictional catastrophic events, the American
Academy of Pediatrics suggests the following to prepare your child for times
when actual catastrophic events occur:

• Help children distinguish between fantasy and reality.
• Watch television with children and discuss the events and images
  that are portrayed. Ask children to think about what would happen
  in real life if the same type of event were to occur. Would anyone
  die or be hurt? Would anyone be sad? Would could be done to help?
• Ask children how they feel after watching a television show,
  movie or music video portraying a catastrophic event.

How does news about terrible events like Hurricane
Katrina affect your child? Experts at the Hospital for Sick Children (HSC)
say one way to gauge that is by watching your children at play and looking
at their drawings – do you see any spontaneous themes of violence
or catastrophic events? Parents are also advised to monitor their children’s
television viewing habits:

• Choose age-appropriate programs.
• Don’t leave the television on during newscasts if you
  are not around.
• Be there to explain any sad or depressing things they see.
• Be prepared to turn the television off, if upsetting.

Also, according to HSC, don’t be surprised if kids don’t
see the events that occurred as real. After all, young children are
constantly exposed to video images of death and destruction on television
and in video games. Children may well perceive actual news footage
as equally “unreal” or even exciting.

One positive outcome of events like Hurricane Katrina is that it
can provide parents with an ideal opportunity to model helpful, selfless
behavior and get their children involved in community acts of service.
Many people have been displaced from their homes, and the majority
of them have no material possessions left, such as clothes, food,
shelter, etc. This will provide parents with a wonderful chance to
show the benefits of helping others in need and how everyone involved
can benefit from acts of service.

Children learn from their parents, and recent studies show that
children who reported having positive role models were nearly twice
as likely to volunteer as those who did not. Encourage your child
to volunteer by setting an example. Youth Service America provides
additional ways to increase teen volunteerism:

• Ask them to volunteer.
• Encourage youth to get involved at an early age. Volunteering
  when young creates lifelong adult volunteers.
• Encourage children and young adults to participate in community
  groups, faith-based organizations, student government and school
  projects.
• Encourage a positive self-image so young people are able to
  help others and contribute to their communities.
• Be a mentor in your community.
• Provide young people with opportunities to take courses that
  include and even require community service.

In addition, there are things you can do to help your child become
more community-service minded. The National Network for Child Care
says responsive parents and teachers “can lead children away
from materialism.” The following suggestions will help strengthen
your child’s self-esteem and sharing abilities:

• Model sharing and giving. Your kindness and willingness to share
  with your child encourages him or her to do the same.
• Recognize your child’s spontaneous gestures of sharing.
  Emphasize the results of his or her kindness to others.
• Recognize the many ways your child shares. He or she may invite
  someone to participate in an activity with him or her. Your child
  may loan something to a classmate. Or he or she may give something
  permanently to another person.
• Help your child develop a healthy sense of ownership, and give
  him or her opportunities to share special belongings. Encourage
  your child to talk about how the belongings are used and enjoyed.
• Give your child the choice to share or be generous. “Forced” sharing
  and generosity can build an atmosphere of resentment. When forced
  to share, it is less likely that your child will offer kindness
  on his or her own.

Children who have participated in volunteer activities report benefiting
in many ways, including:

• Learning to respect others.
• Learning to be helpful and kind.
• Learning to understand people who are different from them.
• Developing leadership skills.
• Becoming more patient.
• Gaining a better understanding of good citizenship.
• Exploring or learning about career options.
• Developing new career goals.

For older children, the Chicago Public Schools suggests asking your
child the following questions and having him or her respond by writing
in a journal:

• How do you show kindness?
• What is the kindest thing you have ever done?
• What is the kindest thing that someone has done for you?
• In what ways or in which aspects of your life would you like
  people to treat you with more kindness?
• What could you do to become a kinder person?
• How do you show generosity?
• What is the most generous act that someone has performed for
  you?
• How are people generous in ways that do not involve money?
• What do you do to help others?
• In what important ways do other
  people help you?