Building Resilience in Children Through Coping Skills

Resources for Before and During an Emergency

Discussing what to expect when an emergency occurs with your child beforehand can positively impact their ability to react appropriately during an event. Doing so supports their overall resilience, which can improve their ability to recover after a stressful situation.

Enjoy our library of fun and engaging animated videos that help children learn how to help stay safe during a variety of emergencies and cope with any thoughts or feelings that might come up along the way.

Check out our Red Cross Kids Videos playlist on YouTube to view them all! All videos are available in English and Spanish.

When Grown-ups Only Speak Spanish

This bilingual (English and Spanish) resource for youth outlines important concepts for children who are the only ones in the household who speak English and must communicate important safety messaging in Spanish. Concepts include recognizing emergency alerts, interacting with first responders and translating for other members of the household.

When Grown-ups Only Speak Spanish Guide

Prepare with Pedro: Pedro Goes to a Shelter Animated Video and Storybook

There was an emergency in Pedro’s neighborhood, and he needs to go to a safe place. Follow along as he learns about what happens when you go to a shelter and meets new friends and helpers.

PLEASE NOTE: This resource was developed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and does not reflect the current Red Cross COVID-19 sheltering procedures and risk-reduction practices. Red Cross sheltering in the COVID-environment includes social distancing, mandatory face coverings, disinfecting practices and using non-congregate sheltering options whenever possible.

For specific planning and operational information about how sheltering is different in the COVID-19 environment, emergency managers and interested parties may visit the National Mass Care Strategy website at nationalmasscarestrategy.org

Things You Can Do to Help

After experiencing an emergency, certain behaviors are common in children, such as anxiety, sleep issues, fear the emergency will happen again, a regression from certain developmental milestones and clinginess or separation anxiety with loved ones. Children may also express their feelings through play, sometimes by replaying the emergency they experienced. Know that these behaviors and feelings are common after a stressful event, and that your reassurance, love and extra affection can help soothe their anxiety.

Things You Can Do to Help

Explore and identify feelings your child may be feeling and openly discuss what happened in an age-appropriate way.
Provide extra affection and comfort.
Provide extra patience and understanding as the child does common tasks; forgetfulness and difficulty focusing are common.
Try to keep at least one routine in your day the same as before the emergency.
Assure your child that you will do everything you can to help protect them and keep them safe.
Stay positive with words and actions.
Monitor the media and your child’s exposure to the news or other information regarding the emergency.
Remember to care for yourself so you can be there for your children.

Resources to Increase Resilience and Build Coping Skills

Resilience is the capacity to recovery quickly after a stressful or challenging experience. Increasing resilience is particularly important for children and can be further developed through learned coping skills. These resources help identify the thoughts and feelings a child might experience after an emergency and offer guided coping skills that can support them throughout their recovery.

"Everybody Can Be A Superhero" Animated Video

After an emergency happens, children can often have feelings they aren’t sure what to do with. In this video, you can help your children understand what an emergency is, who they can rely on as their circle of support and most importantly, coping skills to handle their feelings of anxiety and stress.

Prepare with Pedro Resilience & Coping Skills book cover

Prepare with Pedro: Resilience and Coping Skills Animated Video and Activity Book

Pedro recently experienced an emergency that made him feel scared, nervous and afraid. He didn’t know what to do with all these feelings, so he asked his friends if they had ever experienced something like this and what they did to help them feel better. Follow Pedro as he learns how to handle these thoughts and feeling through various activities.

Helping Your Child Cope After a Disaster

After a stressful situation, children often begin to act differently as they try to figure out how to handle their emotions.

This video for parents, guardians and/or caretakers addresses common behaviors a child may display after experiencing an emergency or disaster, and outlines concrete actions one can take to best support a child's recovery.