UI alum helps prepare nation's children to cope with disasters

by Mary Ann Reese

Better Prepared = Less Scared.

That’s the formula that Talina Veien-Dixon follows when coaching fellow teachers and parents on how to help young children through disasters. “Children need to know adults in their lives are prepared to take care of them,” says Veien-Dixon, of  Covington, Wash.

“Hands down, that’s the best way to help them cope.” Veien-Dixon, who completed her master’s degree in child development from the UI Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences in 1990, is a leader among the nation’s teachers, accumulating resources to help all teachers and parents be  better prepared to help youth.

After Hurricane Katrina, Veien-Dixon felt compelled to help prepare  teachers, parents, and children in the Puget Sound Educational Service District where she is an education coordinator for the     Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program. Her concern increased further when she learned Washington state ranks fifth in the nation for potential disasters.      

Videos she created of master teachers preparing young children for disasters earned her an invitation to a summit of experts hosted by Save the Children, a leading organization committed to children in need in the United States and globally.             

Three practical suggestions

Veien-Dixon offers these suggestions:

Adults need to explain that disasters occurring elsewhere don’t mean potential harm locally. “Because children lack experience in understanding disasters, they fill in the blanks, and information they insert is often incorrect. For example, after seeing a hurricane on the news, a young Idaho child could easily believe that hurricanes happen in Idaho.”

Hands-on exposure beats talk. “Rather than just telling children that you have an emergency supply of food, get that kit out and go through it with the children.”

Practice. Evaluate. Practice. If you have an emergency evacuation plan at home or school, make sure that children practice using the plan, but practice without pressure. “Timing practice drills isn’t really about testing the children. It’s about testing whether the plan works,” she adds. Research shows that if children don’t practice emergency drills, the drill only has a 10 percent success rate.

“After each practice, it’s critical to debrief what happened, and give children the opportunity to talk about their concerns.”

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