Thinking of our Staff and Families During the Wildfire

Dear Len Wood Middle School community,

We wanted to reach out to you, our LWMS Community, to let you know we are
thinking about our families and staff as we face the challenge of being on and off
evacuation alert, evacuating and the uncertainty of the fire’s behaviour.

Many of us have family and friends who are struggling with the effects of the
dangerous wildfires round us.  This is certainly a stressful time on the heels of the last
year and a half with Covid.

We know that one part of good mental health is found in sharing our thoughts and
processing healthily what we experience in life. If you are unsure how to tackle
talking about these events with your child(ren), or would simply value some tips, here
are some helpful ideas:

10 Tips for Talking to Kids About Wildfires
When wildfires are close to home or in the news, it can cause considerable anxiety in
kids. Here are 10 tips for parents and caregivers to keep in mind when talking to children
about wildfires and other natural disasters:

1. Recognize they may be scared. Kids age 6 and older, based on how much they know,
   could have big worries about wildfires, especially if there’s something about the natural
   disaster that touches on them.
2. Limit kids’ exposure to the media. Parents may want to follow TV coverage, and local
   news trucks and helicopters are around, which can lead to repeat consumption of tragic
   stories and images. This can be harmful. Parents should think about viewing coverage when
   children are not present.
3. Develop and ensure open communication. For example, use sentences like, “You sound
   worried,” or “You look like you could be worried about __.” If the conversation doesn’t go
   anywhere, that’s fine. Parents should be honest in terms of their feelings, too; it’s okay to say,
   “This is worrisome.” Use words appropriate for a child’s age.
4. Make this a teaching moment. Talk to your children about why it’s important to prepare and
   why we have agencies in place to help. Try to answer their questions about how wildfires can
   happen. Talk about insurance companies and how, “If we pay them a little bit every year we
   don’t have to worry so much about not having a house if a fire destroys it.”
5. Reassure them. Children need to understand that, if evacuated, they won’t starve and
   relatives or agencies will take care of them. The message should be “safety first.” Parents
   can say, “We’re going to stay safe. We can get another house; we can’t get another you.”
   Read about how to help your children stay calm during a natural disaster.
6. Stay calm and think ahead. Imagine that you received the call to evacuate: what would you
   take? You can replace a house, but other things you cannot. Make a list of the things you
   can’t replace and know where they are if you need to grab them quickly. Pack a suitcase
   ahead of time, if necessary.
7. Breathe deeply from the diaphragm in adrenaline-filled moments.
8. Keep things as normal as possible.
9. If you’re worried about your own home or community, let kids help. A mental health
   counselor in Children’s Colorado’s Neuropsychiatric Special Care Program gives this advice:
   “Parents can give their child some kind of ‘helper role’ in the midst of the chaos. Having a ‘job’
   can help keep thoughts from imposing fear and worry. This job could be to update others on
   the status of the weather, to have a volunteer role in the shelter or to plan the next family
   vacation.”
   10.If experiencing a loss, tell your kids how you depend on other people’s kindness. Nobody’s
   out in the cold, all alone. If there is a loss, there will be people to help and life will go on. In
   dealing with loss and grief, it is important to let children ask questions and to acknowledge
   their questions and validate their emotions. Parents need to be careful not to underestimate
   the loss their children are experiencing.
   Take care of yourselves and reach out to others around you if you are able. This is a
   time for our community to pull together. We have seen so many examples of this
   already and are so thankful to live and work in this beautiful region!
   

Thinking of everyone!

LWMS STAFF