Just as children cope in different ways following a trauma, so do parents. Some distress is perfectly normal at first. Even if you are very upset at first, in many cases you will begin to feel better over time. if you do not, you might consider getting support.
Here you will learn:
Even if you weren’t there at the time, your child’s trauma may affect how you think, feel and behave. For example:
It can vary. You may find that:
It is essential to look after yourself, even if you feel your first priority is your child. Here are some things that may help:
A ‘wait-and-see’ period of four weeks is usually recommended to give time for things to settle down on their own. Seek help or advice from your GP if you:
There is no clear answer to this, but being upset about what happened is normal. If your child sees you are upset or angry:
Even if you are extremely distressed, it doesn’t follow that your child is struggling too. If you think your own feelings could be making you more worried about your child, check with others how they think your child is coping.
If you still feeling overwhelmed by what happened and are not improving, speak to your GP about getting trauma-focused psychological therapy.
Parents can be strongly affected when something serious happens to their child. Although it is natural to want to put your child first, it is important to get help for yourself if you need it.
You can download short summaries of the information below, for younger children here and for older children and teens here.