Growing together through natural disasters

Natural disasters can be scary. You might notice your baby or child:

• acts differently from usual
• seems stressed or worried
• wants more attention or cuddles
• cries more or has more tantrums.

To help your child feel better:

• help them talk about their feelings
• read storybooks and play games to have fun
• answer their questions in a way that's suitable for their age
• try to keep your normal family habits like mealtimes, bathtime and bedtime
• stay in touch with your child’s teachers and carers
• make sure your child doesn’t see or hear too much about the natural disaster on the news or TV.

To take care of your child, you need to take care of yourself. Make sure you get enough rest and talk with friends and family about how you're feeling. It's okay to ask for and accept help when you need it.

Watch our Babies, young children and stressful events video to learn more.

Booklets for parents and families

Download our booklets on how to take care of yourself and your child in stressful times.

• Families in pregnancy and early parenthood 
• Families with babies and young children

Talking with children about the weather

If a child has gone through a flood or cyclone, they may feel scared of normal clouds, rain or wind.

Help them understand what's happening by checking the Bureau of Meteorology website. Talk with them about what the radar images mean.

You can help a child feel safe by:

• staying calm, cheerful and relaxed
• talking, cuddling and reading a story together
• playing games and singing songs like 'rain, rain, go away'
• talking about people who helped the last time there was 'big weather' such as a storm.

Talking about thunder

If a child is scared of thunder and lightning, you can:

• talk about what causes lightning and thunder to happen
• tell stories about lightning and thunder
• use torches and musical instruments to make storm sounds
• play torch games like shadow puppets and silhouette drawing
• teach children to count the seconds between the lightning and thunder to see how far away the storm is.

Talking about wind

If a child is nervous about strong winds, you can:

• talk about how the wind is just moving air
• run, skip and dance
• play imaginative games such as pretending to be a scarecrow
• blow bubbles, fly a kite or make a pinwheel to use in the wind.

Talking about rain and clouds

If a child is nervous in rainy or cloudy weather, you can:

• explain the weather and say things like ‘usually when it rains, it doesn’t flood’
• have fun in the rain by dancing in gumboots and splashing in puddles
• draw rainy day pictures.

Information sheets

For more help, download and print our growing together through natural disasters information sheets for:

• blizzards
• cyclones
• droughts
• earthquakes
• fires
• floods
• hot days
• shelters
• storms
• tsunamis
• pandemics
• epidemics.

We also have a hard times parent support card you can download and print as a tool for helping children talk about their feelings.

Children’s books

Birdie’s Tree storybooks help young children get ready, cope and recover from natural disasters. You can read the books for free online or buy print copies for $10 each plus shipping.

You can find more storybooks to support young children through tough times in our "Books About" brochures.

Mental health support

Coping with a natural disaster can be tough. If you need some support for your wellbeing, there's lots of help available.

Call our crisis line on 07 3068 2555 for confidential support 24 hours a day. The crisis line helps children, young people, their families, and carers.

In an emergency call Triple Zero (000).

Helplines

• Lifeline on 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
• Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
• Mensline Australia on 1300 789 978
• Women’s Health & Equality Queensland on 1800 017 676

Pregnant, expectant and new parents

• Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA) on 1300 726 306
• Parentline Queensland on 1300 301 300
• Pregnancy, Birth and Baby Helpline on 1800 882 436

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

There's additional support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families on the following websites.

• Victorian Aboriginal Health Service Koori Parenting Resources
• Trauma & Grief Network’s indigenous support

You can also read Yarning with Jarjums about weather after a storm, flood or cyclone to help Jarjums feel safe in 'big weather'.