Tsunami Disaster - Psychosocial Care for Children [PDF] - Nimhans

Drawing 2 1 1 1Puppets 1 1 2 2Clay 2 1 1 1Activities/ worksheets 3 1 1 2Drama 3 2 1 1Writing 3 3 2 1Physical games 3 1 1 2Adapted from Geldard et al: 1 indicates it will work very well 2 that it is okay and 3 that it is the leastsuited medium.All the mediums mentioned above can engage the children meaningfully and help them toexpress their thoughts and feelings. One needs to support and provide comfort to the child throughwhat one says, a pat, holding his/her hand or even a hug if he/she is too upset. (Be careful about theage and gender of the child when you do so as it may go against the local cultural norms).These sort of activities can be done for general events (like - how people go through difficulttimes and are able to work through it), tsunami specific experiences (like the water coming into thevillage and how their community was destroyed) or it could be related to personal experiences(like– loss of friends or loved ones, missing their pet whom they lost in the tsunami, concerns abouttheir schools, exams etc.). Even if the children become emotional and start crying one need notworry. Remember that such expressions:ü Relieve tension, fear, and anxiety.ü May give children a sense of understanding or control over their lives or the eventsin their lives.ü Help children to convey their needs to others.PLAYSand – It is a very effective medium for children. They are very familiar with this medium.They can create and destroy whatever they want to without harming anyone.Games- Some games will get the children to interact with each other and pick up social skillsand start bonding. They will be able to learn the right kind of behavior and control their emotions asthey play. They will learn positive interaction and communication skills without too much pressure.Physical games are good to build up team spirit, instill bonding and release energy in a constructivemanner. Games are effective ways of keeping children occupied.TOT INFORMATION MANUAL - 1 47