A common concern with kids is that the earthquake might, as my 6-year-old says, “come to our house.”   Accetta suggests doing a bit of show-n-tell by using a globe or a map to identify how far Haiti is from their home or school and reassuring them that they are safe.  

Accetta also suggests using this tragedy as a means of empowering your children to help others in need.  He encourages parents to sit down with their kids and talk about ways the family can help.

Finally, Accetta warns about offering too much information and instead opening the conversation and then allowing the child to ask questions.  “It is usually best to let them ask questions and only answer what they ask so you don’t get into details that they aren’t even asking about. Each parent should also know their child enough to know that some of them need just the broad strokes so they don’t get too upset or scared.”

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