3-year-olds Zoe and Mone play doctor at the Lighthouse Child Development Center in Alabama. Save the Children supported the child care program at the Lighthouse after Hurricane Katrina.

Children are not passive victims of emergencies. They see, hear and absorb more than adults may expect. But children do not experience disasters the same way that adults do.

In normal times, family, caregivers and community institutions like schools work together to keep children safe, and help them learn and develop. During disasters, family members can be separated, schools and child care centers closed or destroyed, and the routines children are used to, disrupted. These sudden changes can frighten children.

The physical differences between children and adults are clear, and in shelters, hospitals and emergency service centers, these differences matter.

Children need physical protection to ensure their safety. Socially and psychologically, children have not had as much time to develop the skills to cope with adversity. A month- or year-long disaster will disrupt a much greater portion of a young child’s life than an adult’s. Children may not understand why a disaster has happened or what it means, and older children miss their friends when they are separated.

Depending on community needs and available resources, Save the Children's response to disasters in the U.S. may include:

• Creating Safe Spaces, safe play areas that offer children a chance to play and recover under the supervision of caring adults.
• Providing disaster recovery and resilience-building programs that help children and caregivers rebuild a sense of safety and trust.
• Supporting organizations that serve children, such as after-school, summer program and child care providers, to restore their services.
• Empowering families in temporary housing to create safe environments for their children.

Read Save the Children's 10 Tips to Help Children Cope with Disaster

Learn more about our U.S. Emergency Programs

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