A traumatic event like an accident is a life-changing experience for many children. They overcome it through the help of their parents and other people close to them. The way we help children cope after such an event is very different from helping adults. You may need to invest a lot of thoughtful efforts to handle your child’s experience as opposed to handling an adult’s accident.
As mothers, we need to provide them with emotional support and help them learn how to deal with their feelings. Also, mothers need to maintain a calm composure in the event of their children’s accident so having a proper understanding of what to do and what not to do is a must. In this article, we will see how you deal with your child’s accident as a mother:
Help Your Child Calm Down After the Accident
If you want to help your child calm down after a minor accident, you should ask him or her to focus on something pleasant and have them make a list of all the things he or she likes about his or her life, with no negative thoughts present.
You may even ask them to breathe slowly or do deep belly breaths while placing support behind their backs. Remember, this must be done only if you are sure that your child hasn’t suffered any internal injury, as it may do more damage than good.
You must explicitly express that you are not angry and that they must not think of any damages to the vehicles or appliances. Don’t talk about the accident immediately but make sure you fetch all the details so you can make the best decisions regarding their treatment or counseling. You may need these inputs for personal injury representation, so have it as a priority.
Conduct Basic Medical Examination
The first thing you must do in case of a severe illness is to stay calm and composed. This is because you would be among the first people to reach your child after their accident if they aren’t already attended to by paramedics. In the US, 8% of the individuals that face passenger vehicle crashes are children.
In many cases, children fear disclosing accidents initially because they might have damaged the car or any appliance or avoiding any confrontation. Instead of yelling or being angry, you must talk nicely with them. The next thing you must do is a basic physical examination before the medical workers arrive in case you feel your child has suffered a serious injury.
Make them comfortably sit or lay down and instruct them not to move their body as it might worsen any internal injury. Check if your child is breathing properly and that there’s no external bleeding. If you don’t have a first aid kit, make sure you wash the wound with clean water and block the blood flow if required.
If the bleeding is happening in the limbs, you can block blood flow by tying a rope around it. Offer them water and ask them about the accident. You must take them to the nearest clinic or hospital for a proper checkup to ensure that everything is alright.
Act Empathetically After the Accident
One of the common mistakes you can make as a mother is to underestimate the effect of an accident on your child after everything is over. They can develop persistent fear or PTSD and avoid doing the same activity in the future, which may not be advisable in many cases.
Try having conversations regarding it and acknowledge their fears instead of discarding them right away. Try to accept that emotional response and find a way to help them cope which doesn’t feel intimidating.
Summing Up
Learning to cope with an accident can be a difficult thing for children. It is not only the parents who have to deal with this. The child also has to deal with it, and you must provide them with an environment that supports the recovery process both physically and mentally.
It is important that children are taught how to calm down after an accident and what they should do if something like this happens again. As a mother, it is unnerving at times to see your child suffer but remember, your attitude can make a lot of difference in how they think about the accident and their approach to life in general. Make sure to follow the tips mentioned above and be the supermom that guides her children out of any such situation.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
