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As the Australian bushfire season draws to a close, a new animated video from the ANU-based Trauma and Grief Network will help parents and children recover from the trauma of a bushfire.
“This short video is a tool for parents to watch with their children, so that they can start to think about and discuss how their child is feeling following a bushfire experience,” said Amanda Harris, Director of the Australian Child and Adolescent Trauma, Loss and Grief Network.
The animated clip tells the story of Kylie the kangaroo and her family, whose home is destroyed by a bushfire.
Produced with funding from the Department of Health, the video will help educate families around the impact that bushfires have on children, and the importance of communities as a source of support during times of bushfire.
“When children experience something that is frightening and overwhelming, such as a bushfire or other type of natural disaster, we see a wide range of common reactions,” Harris said.
“Some of these include children having difficulty sleeping, feeling scared and worried, especially when they are away from their families, having nightmares, having difficulty concentrating at school and sometimes, for younger children, doing things like thumb sucking, or wetting the bed, when they have not done this for many months.”
But events such as bushfires and natural disasters can have some longer-term impacts as well.
“It is important to recognise that the impact of a bushfire is not just felt in the days, weeks and months after, but also in the years after the bushfire has occurred,” she said.|
Harris said in the years following a bushfire or other disaster, many families experience financial hardship and possible relationship stress and separation.
“With the right support for children and their families, and lots of patience and understanding, most children will recover well from difficult experiences like bushfires,” she said.
The animation directs families back to the Trauma & Grief Network: Supporting Families website tgn.anu.edu.au which provides a range of resources for families around how they can help their children who may have been impacted by bushfires and other traumatic experiences.
The Trauma and Grief Network is funded by the Australian Government and is run by the ANU as part of the Australian Child and Adolescent Trauma Loss and Grief Network.
(Source: Australian National University)
