Do's and Don'ts While Working with Traumatized Children

DO:

• Treat all fears as genuine

• Reassurance and give permission to grieve openly

• Give them time – teach normal grieving process

• Keep promises you make

• Listen

• Explain facts in developmental language

• Maintain routine

• Help them verbalize and provide nonverbal ways of expression

• Validate feelings

• Create a place in the school for a memory box for letters, cards, pictures, drawings, flowers to be taken to the family by a CRT member

DON’T

• Create a shrine area

• Allow decoration of deceased’s locker

• Expose children to more information than they should be exposed to

• Have him/her take care of your fears/needs

• Say “she is happier now” or “went to sleep and didn’t wake up”

• Make promises you can’t keep

• Impose a time limit on grieving

• Exclude from grieving process/funerals