The recent floods here in Queensland have been very traumatic for a lot of families. Children can often surprise us at their ability to recover from these sorts of events while we are still struggling with the after effects. Some children do become quite traumatized, and for these, counseling by experienced professionals is a must. For those of us marginally affected, there can still be strong issues when it comes to our children. Our children were particularly concerned that their school was going to be flooded out - it did come close.

How do you help your children recover from these sorts of events? Children like stability, normality, and a sense of routine. They also need reassurance. For us, a short trip around the flooded areas allowed them to see the magnitude of what had his us, while at the same time seeing their school standing high and dry. The roads too and from the school were flooded, but our reassurances where enough for them to understand that these waters would soon subside.

Keeping a normal routine is very important. Children relax when they are inside that routine. One of the consequences that did affect our children was the extensive television coverage, not because of what they saw, but because it interrupted some of their favourite programs. With the outside water logged, they resorted to the television for entertainment, only to find their favourites shows canceled for more live coverage of the floods. After 3-4 hours, you would think the television channels had worn out the current news.

To help your child recover, get back to a normal routine as quickly as possible. Surround your children with what is familiar to them, even if it their friends. Going back to school next week will be a real god-send in a way, children will be back to a regular routine, sharing their stories with their friends, and coming to realize that they are not the only ones affected, and that some have been more affected than others.

Routine, familiarity and normality are keys to helping your children recover from trauma.