Helping children cope with trauma

Every era has had traumatic societal moments to the point where everyone remembers what they were doing that day. For some, it was the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Later, the Columbine massacre and the attacks of September 11, 2001 also left their mark on a generation. The most recent will probably remember the beginning of the covid-19 confinements and the death of George Floyd in the United States, which ignited the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

What should we do as teachers or parents when such traumatic events and many others (natural disasters, wars, etc.) occur? In this talk, researcher Kristen Nguyen outlines 3 steps to help children.

• First, restore a sense of physical and emotional security. The adult, without lying, rationalizes what has happened and reassures the pupil.
• Then comes the hard work of managing emotions and sharing them.
• Finally, it's time to take action.
  

It seems important, for both learners and teachers, to share all the emotions created by the event. This can be done orally, in writing, through mime, and so on.

The aim is to move away from the affects of survival to those of creating links, a sense of community, and breaking isolation. This leads to the third stage: taking action.

Faced with a seemingly difficult situation, young people need to be encouraged to take action that, while not changing everything, expresses their values. We've seen this with climate marches, or militant actions to denounce the deportation of immigrant families or the circulation of weapons. These different points lead to one goal: to collectively emerge from the trauma and bring about even a little change in this world.

Running time: 11 minutes

Photo: photographee.eu / DepositPhotos