How to help children cope with stress and fear of severe weather

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — There can be a fear factor with storms.

Managing the stress of severe storms and tropical systems can be hard for adults, but especially difficult for children.

“It’s got a name, it’s got an eye, it’s coming, it’s described as being devastating, it’s a monster,” Child Psychologist Dr. Mark Pisano said. “So, come on — it’s a natural reaction.”

The impacts of Hurricane Helene on Western North Carolina will forever be stamped. With no housing, food, power, water, cellphone service or Wi-Fi, WNC children may have been temporarily disconnected from the outside world, but they were not forgotten.

LA-based nonprofit Project:Camp is more frequently traveling to disaster-affected areas, including WNC.

The organization was founded by Mikey Latner and Ozzie Baron to provide care for children, ages five through 16, in the wake of disaster. It offers free pop-up, trauma-informed day camps when schools are closed, and resources are disrupted.

Project:Camp ran three camps in total. Starting in Transylvania County, working closely with TC strong, and then they ran a final camp in a local church in downtown Asheville.

Beth Ford, the program director for TC Strong in Transylvania County, said: “Project: Camp meant that there were people outside of this bubble that cared about the wellbeing of our community.”

It takes a considerable amount of manpower and resources to pull off a program like that, she said, and “they came for free.”

Latner said Project: Camp places children into mixed gender cabins by age group.

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“They’ll rotate to different activities throughout the day, whether that’s circle games or playing on the playground, or small arts and crafts activities. We do a lot of sports, all things that are designed to be familiar to them,” he shared with Eyewitness News.

Project: Camp leverages summer camp and its’ inherently healing and therapeutic qualities to create that sense of routine, and by extension, a return to safety and normalcy.

Even with Helene considered a once in a lifetime story, there was gratitude.

“There were kids who were like, ‘I’m really grateful we got out before the water came through the door,’” Ford said. “So, you’re hearing these small little humans put into words what, maybe otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to say out loud.”

“It’s really interesting and really powerful working with children,” Latner said. “In the space that we create, we’re intentionally creating a space that’s unique to kids, so that they’re able to process and move through this experience.”

Ford had an opportunity to sit back and observe parents. A lot of them sat back and watched, just to make sure their kids were going to be okay.

“And then we would see parents turn and just the emotional let down – ‘they’re safe,’” she said. “‘I can go do my job, or I can go clean up my house.’”

Families, who had been displaced by the storm, came from as far as Buncombe and Henderson counties to attend these camps.

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“Disaster relief wasn’t designed with children in mind,” Latner said. “So, we’re creating a space that speaks to kids, that’s unique to them and that also provides that resource to parents and families to do the work that they need to do to rebuild.”

Part of rebuilding is connecting families to resources, including mental health resources, over the long term.

Child psychologist Dr. Mark Pisano said there are signs to look for to know if your child is struggling from weather anxiety. Strangely enough, similar to ADHD symptoms, this can include inattentiveness and daydreaming in class.

“At home when a child is traumatized by a storm, they show their stresses with headaches, stomachaches,” Pisano said. “They tend to be more clingy to a parent, maybe a loss of appetite, sleep trouble.”

You should encourage your children to relieve those feelings of anxiety and stress by talking it out, he added.

“Once in a while, you’ll find a child that doesn’t want to talk,” Pisano said. “So, in that instance, have them draw a picture.”

And parents, remember, your kids are watching you. Do your best to model healthy behavior.

Don’t display excessive worry, crying and other signs of heightened anxiety around the child, as they will pick up on it, Pisano said. If your best efforts-such as distracting the child with games, explaining hurricanes, or modeling appropriate behavior-fail to calm them, it may be time to seek professional help.

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