My Flood Story is another resource that we use here at LDC – although over 30 years old at this point this Children’s Psychological Health Center workbook is still as relevant and helpful as it was back in 1993.
This workbook is meant to give psychological first aid to both you and the children you know, love and teach. You have been through a great stress, just as your own children and students have. Your idea is probably the same as ours. You want to try to help children change a possibly traumatic situation into a constructive learning and coping experience.
If your child is between ages 3 and 6, let him or her do a lot of coloring. You may want to read much of the book to him. Let the child choose some of the topics by reading the captions and asking which part he or she wants to work on first. Stop at the quiz, which is too advanced intellectually. You can often help a preschool or kindergarten child do the drawings and write down his answers to questions and lead-on sentences. Act as an interested reporter-secretary, trying to draw your child out while giving encouragement. Write down exactly what he or she has to say. Take your time. Don’t insist on the child answering. It may be enough for him to know that you think the topic can be shared.
If your child is between the ages of 6 and 11, try using as much of the book as you think your child can understand — allowing him to set the pace. Gently try to work through all of the sections, but let the child direct which sections to work on first. Don’t insist on reading any sections a child of any age does not want to read. Encourage clipping pictures and articles from newspapers and magazines, adding them to make the workbook into a scrapbook. Use the backs of pages for extra clippings. At the very least, ask the child to color in the illustrations, while you are present to offer support. Children often work on the book on and off as they are able, over weeks and sometimes even months, and very often are able to complete a difficult section at a later date.
Most children over age 11 will want to work on the book pretty much on their own, but may need your assistance at times. They can look up information and answers in the rear, find out about their own mental health
by using the checklist, and might give you plenty of adult-sounding suggestions about how to help the community and them back to a normal life! Be available to serve as a resource for your child or teenager, helping to find information and answering questions.
