00:00Children experience hurricanes differently than adults, and experts say preparation before the storm can make a major difference in how
00:07kids handle fear and uncertainty.
00:09Greta Wetzel, Senior Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Advisor with Save the Children,
00:15explains how families can help children feel safer both physically and also emotionally before severe weather threatens.
00:22Greta, thanks so much for making time for us here today.
00:25Thanks for having me.
00:26Well, this is an important topic here as we ramp up into the hurricane season.
00:30So what are the most important things families can do now to prepare before a storm is ever in the
00:35forecast?
00:37So some of the things that parents can do is to really involve your children in the preparedness activities that
00:45you might have in your home.
00:46That can include working together to make contact cards, putting together a go bag, and identifying what are those evacuation
00:56routes that we might take.
00:58What should parents pack in a child's emergency go bag?
01:02This is a bag that you and your child can put together that would have some of those really essential
01:11supplies for children, including hygiene items, some non-perishable snacks they can add in, and then really importantly, activities for
01:19children.
01:20You've worked in disaster response for decades.
01:23So what lessons has Save the Children learned about what helps children most before, during, and after emergencies?
01:30What we've learned is that we want to ensure that both the parents and caregivers of children feel really supported,
01:40as well as children themselves.
01:42Being able to identify how best we can prepare children with as much as we know ahead of time, so
01:52that they don't have any questions, and then in that recovery period, that we are always focusing on both the
02:00needs of the children, as well as how they're connected into the community.
02:06So how does preparedness help reduce fear and confusion for children during disasters?
02:10Being able to talk about what might be happening over the next few days can help a child really start
02:20to sequence, okay, first the wind's going to pick up, then we might see some rain, and we might hear
02:28some waves crashing if we're close to water, or we might see the trees moving.
02:34All of these things where children can anticipate that that would happen, and that can help alleviate their fears.
02:43Greta Wetzel, Senior Psychosocial Support Advisor with Save the Children.
02:47Greta, thanks so much for joining us.
02:50Thanks for having me.
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