Experts’ warning for parents during Australian bushfires
Australian parents are being urged to support their children through the country’s bushfire crisis, as experts warn of potential psychological effects.
VIC News
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Parents are being warned of the long-term psychological toll Australia’s devastating bushfires can have on children.
Children are among those who have lost their homes, with others evacuated from Mallacoota and East Gippsland.
Save the Children national child protection adviser Karen Flanagan said parents should acknowledge that the fires are scary and reassure children that adults were looking out for their safety.
“As long as children know that they are secure, even if there is potential danger, they will cope,” she said.
“It is important to normalise their worries and anxieties because they can sense the danger around them.”
Ms Flanagan recommended that parents limit their children’s access to media coverage and instead involve them in any planning
“You need to tell them the truth but don’t give them more information than they need or overdramatise it,” she said.
“There is no point saying everything will be fine if it is clearly not.
“It is about emphasising what they do have, rather than what they don’t have.”
Sleeplessness, nightmares and clinginess could be expected in the short-term, Ms Flanagan said, and could be signs professional help was needed if they continued.
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The aid agency is running “child-friendly spaces” with play areas at evacuation centres in Bairnsdale, Morwell and Albury.
Chief executive Paul Ronalds said uncertainty and fear could be crippling and linger for many years. “That’s why supporting children’s mental health needs will be a really important part of the longer-term recovery process,” he said.