PASADENA, Calif.— Pasadena Public Health Department is issuing guidance for parents and caregivers to support the well-being of children as they return to school and social activities after the Eaton Wildfire.
Children’s reactions to the wildfires and the aftermath are strongly influenced by how parents, teachers, and other caregivers cope during and after the events. Children often turn to these adults for information, comfort, and help. Below are ways to help your child cope and process their emotions:
Talk About Wildfires
Give your children basic information, without providing unnecessary, scary details:
- Create an open environment to share relevant and age-appropriate information. Very young children need to know how it will affect them. Older children will likely want more information.
- Be patient and answer questions with honesty. Be prepared to wait for children to be ready to talk. When they are ready, provide honest answers and information. Validate children’s feelings and concerns by assuring them that their feelings and concerns are important and appropriate.
- Limit details and prevent your child’s access to media coverage. Provide reassurance and share recovery efforts. Prepare for repeated questions.
Be Aware of Your Child’s Mental Health and How They Are Coping
Your child may feel sad, anxious, and frightened. Encourage and validate your child’s feelings by:
- Make Time to Talk:
- Dedicate time to let your child talk about their feelings and share your own feelings with them. Provide accurate and simple responses to their questions, but do not overwhelm them with too many details. If your child is returning to school, back home, or a new setting; provide your child information about these changes. Reassure them that you are doing everything you can to make sure that they are safe.
- Maintain A Routine:
- Your child’s schedule can make them feel calm and provide a sense of familiarity such as keeping a bedtime routine, reading with your child, and setting daily time for playing with your child.
- Monitor Changes in Behavior:
- Your child may be experiencing grief or displaying a trauma response. If you’re concerned about your child’s health and well-being, seek help from a primary care provider or mental health professional.
Wildfire Safety and Tips
Pasadena Unified School District has taken measures to help ensure that it is safe for students and faculty to return to school. Take steps to reduce the risk of your child breathing in air pollutants and potential contaminants during and after a wildfire.
- Monitor the air quality in Los Angeles at AQMD.gov.
- If the air quality is bad, stay inside as much as possible or consider wearing a mask.
- If air quality is good, there is a low risk of toxins in the air, and it is safer to go outside.
- If you see ash, dust, or debris, do not let children touch or play with it.
- Have children wash hands often, especially when returning from spending time outside, such as at a playground or school.
For more information on helping children cope with a disaster, visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry website, and Los Angeles County Office of Education website.