Impact of 9/11 on children

Chris Casey, (Bio) ccasey@greeleytrib.com
September 11, 2006

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The traumatic events of Sept. 11, 2001, have lasting effects on children, a local psychologist says.

«THE LONG-TERM IMPACT depends on how much exposure children had to the tragedy five years ago, how vulnerable they were in their life then and how vulnerable they are now, said Nancy Turner, a licensed psychologist at the University of Northern Colorado Counseling Center.

«"As children go through new developmental stages, they will have to reresolve the issues brought up by terrorism," Turner said. "Even preschool children, who weren't even born back then, they can still be affected by it because they are watching TV."

Other things parents should be aware of:

«CHILDREN MAY BECOME EXTRA-CLINGY or reactive to scary things, Turner said. "Parents need to provide as much reassurance as possible. It's good for parents to keep a normal schedule, so kids think, 'OK, things keep going.' Children very much like knowing they can count on things."

«MONITOR WHAT CHILDREN are watching on TV. "Visual images have a much stronger emotional impact than auditory messages," Turner said.

«OLDER CHILDREN SHOULD BE ASKED what they've seen or heard recently about the terrorist attacks. "Even if parents think they've forgotten about it, it's being brought back up again in children's lives."

«PARENTS ARE THERE to help their kids, not the other way around. "Parents need to monitor themselves," Turner said. "If they have a lot of emotional reaction to this they should go to another adult (for reassurance), rather than to their kids."

Source: Chris Casey