Last week was quite stormy in our neck of the woods. Yesterday we did a post on Severe Weather Kits because we realized during National Severe Weather Preparedness week (April 22-28) that our families were not prepared for emergencies during severe weather.
Today we’re giving you 25 ideas for keeping your children calm during storms
- Keep yourself calm–This is the most important thing of all. If you are not calm, your kids won’t be either.
- Cuddle–Sometimes a little physical contact is all your kids need to feel safe and calm.
- Practice–On non-stormy days practice what you would do in the event of severe weather. Knowing what to do will help your kids feel in control.
- Severe weather kit—Have your kids help you make a severe weather kit. It helps them to know what you have that will keep them safe.
- Light–Lots of kids get scared in the dark so make sure you have plenty of flashlights on hand to keep things bright if the power goes out!
- Validate fears–Let your children know that it is ok to be scared and that you were once scared of storms too.
- Books–Check out some books at your local library about storms and read them on non-stormy days.
(Jamie’s dog)
- Reassure about pet–If you have pets, reassure your children that the pets will be ok. Many children worry about their pets.
- Limit TV/radio about storm–As tempting as it may be to constantly listen to the news about the storm, try to limit how much you watch or listen to while your kids are around. Many may not understand the reports and they will increase anxiety.
- Keep routine–Keep to your children’s normal routine as much as possible. This helps to decrease anxiety and makes your child feel in control.
- Dance party—Grab a battery operated radio or your iPod and dance the fears away!
- Give them a job–Make your children responsible for things such as holding the flashlight. This makes them feel in control.
- Build a fort–Grab some blankets and a few chairs and build a fort. The kids can hide from the storm in their fort.
- Make shadow puppets–Make the most out of lost electricity by using your flashlights to make shadow puppets.
- Special snack–Have a special (easy to make) snack that your children only eat during bad storms
- Charades–Pass the time and take your children’s minds off the storm by playing charades.
- Board games–Playing board games is easy by flashlight and will help take their minds off the weather.
- Visit shelter ahead–Make sure your children know where the safe part of the house is (or where your shelter is). Visit it often during non-stormy days so that they are used to the surroundings (especially if it’s in the basement or separate from the house that’s not visited often)
- Sleep in the quiet part of the house–If it’s storming at night, camp out on the floor in the quietest room in the house. If the thunder isn’t so loud, you children might not be so scared.
- Headphones–Grab a pair of headphones and drown out the sound of thunder with music!
- Count the time between thunder and lightening to help predict–Older children might enjoy counting the time between the thunder and lightening to help predict when the next ones might be.
- Special storm toy bag/box–Make a special storm bag/box. Fill it with things such as new puzzles, coloring books, and reading books. These special items are only brought out during bad weather. You can also surprise them with a personalized word search puzzle in their bag or box.
What do you do to help keep your kids calm during bad storms or other severe weather?
Such great ideas! I am lucky my kids don’t freak out in storms…but it’s nice to know what to say to other moms who ask!