As today marks the three-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many wonder how the events of the last few months have affected the nation’s children.
Depending on their age, terrorism has affected children mostly through images on television and reactions of parents.
“Kids have been understandably frightened by what they’ve seen on television and probably equally as much by seeing their parents frightened,” UW Communication Arts professor Joanne Cantor said. “It’s very unusual to see your parents scared and worried.”
Experts say children react to traumatic events like Sept. 11 with uncertain, fearful emotions but little understanding.
“They all understand that suddenly the world is a lot scarier and we don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Cantor said.
UW-Madison counseling and educational psychology professor Stephen Quintana said children generally think of the world in different terms than adults.
“Children think in more dichotomous ways,” Quintana said. “They tend to think of good versus bad, and us versus them. [The current situation] reinforces this thinking.”
Cantor also said children understand the events differently depending on their age. Teenagers react with a deeper understanding than younger children.
“These children will be horrified by the same things as younger children, but, in addition, they will be anxious about what [these events] mean for the future in terms of our personal safety and our day-to-day lives,” Cantor said.
According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, adults should respond to these varying levels of children’s reactions with reassurance.
“Young children have great faith in adults’ powers and are responsive to adult reassurances,” an NAEYC statement said. “[Adults should] model and demonstrate coping skills, because children will imitate adults in reacting to the situation.”
Another important way to respond to children’s fears is to highlight the positive outcomes of the tragedy of Sept. 11, and the months that followed, Cantor said.
“Children will enjoy hearing about how strangers have helped strangers, how there have been overwhelming donations of money and blood to aid the victims, how firefighters have traveled to New York from distant places and how there is a new spirit of community in our country,” she said.
Many argue children were most affected by the attacks and subsequent war through dramatic television images. Cantor suggests limiting TV coverage for children in order to reduce unnecessary negative responses.
“How TV communicates about these events is horrifying for children,” Cantor said. “[Parents] should make interpersonal communication the main way they learn about what has happened and about the ongoing events that unfold as the world responds to these attacks.”
