What to do if your child asks about baby tragedy: Clinical psychologist offers top tips

South Australian kids need to be reminded they are safe – and that what happened to baby Kobi is tragic but highly unusual, experts say.

Love and reassurance is the key for young children reeling from the horror of Kobi Shepherd­son’s death, experts say.

Children were reportedly among those who saw the tragedy at the Whispering Wall, in the Barossa Valley, on Wednesday.

Veteran clinical psychologist Darryl Cross said it was vital youngsters were reminded they were safe and that the fatal incident was highly unusual.

“The first thing is to reassure children they really are loved, they are cared for immensely and nothing like this is going to happen in their family,” he said.

“As well as reassurance, they need lots and lots of love in the form of physical kisses and hugs … young children fantasise heavily and will think ‘Could that happen to me?’

“We have an expectation a parent’s role is to love, care and protect their children. When that gets flipped, it can provide a lot of anguish for children.”

Dr Cross said people could experience initial shock for between 48 hours to a week but it was important to monitor for ongoing symptoms beyond this.

“With children, you always monitor behaviour because it is a reflection of what is going on with them,” he said.

“They don’t always have the skills or capacity to verbalise it.”

Crossways Consulting organisational psychologist Dr Darryl Cross.

Clinical psychologist Kirrilie Smout.

Clinical psychologist Kirrilie Smout, who specialises in children, said it was possible for children who witnessed a traumatic event to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ms Smout, who is the director of Developing Minds Psychology, agreed reassuring children they were safe was paramount.

“Yes, bad things do happen in the world, but most of the time people are looked after,” she said.

Both experts said youngsters should be protected as much as possible from coverage of the tragedy.

“I don’t think it is helpful for young children to have to see, hear and understand issues such as suicide and murder,” Ms Smout said.

“They need, as much as possible, to be protected from that. If they have heard about it, again the key is reassurance.”