How to Talk to Your Children About Japan's Earthquake

It's not easy for anyone to understand the full scale of a natural disaster.

The 2011 earthquake in Japan, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are just a few of the natural catastrophes that made headlines and the nightly news for weeks.

Given the prominence of these events, there's a good chance that you, as a parent, will be (or have been) asked to explain what's happening, and that can be difficult territory. 

In this week's Moms Talk Q&A, we ask: How do you explain natural disasters to your child?

The American Academy of Child  & Adolescent Psychiatry offers a full list of tips on how to talk to your children about earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Here are a few suggestions the AACAP provides:

• Give children honest answers and information. "Children will usually know, or eventually find out," the AACAP writes, "if you're making things up."
• Use words and concepts that children can understand.
• Be prepared to repeat information several times or hear the same question several times. 
• Children learn from watching parents and teachers and will learna  lot from how you respond to world events.
• Don't let children watch too much television with frightening images.
• Monitor for physical symptoms like head aches and stomach aches. The AACAP writes that these can sometimes be an expression of anxiety in younger children.