» Following an aircraft incident or disaster, children of flight attendants may fear the loss of parents.  Physical closeness is needed to rebuild and reaffirm attachments and relationships.  Extra time should be spent with children to let them know someone will take care of them.

» Invite children to talk about the incident and to ask questions. It is important to encourage them to express their feelings (e.g., through painting, drawing, or playing with toys), to help them understand their strong and troubling actions. Help children understand that a wide range of emotions is normal and there are no bad emotions.

» Don't be afraid to admit that you can't answer all their questions, and answer questions at a level the child can understand.  Provide on-going opportunities for children to talk, as they will probably have more questions as time goes on.

» Monitor children's television watching by limiting their exposure to graphic or troubling scenes.

» Help children identify good things:  heroic actions, the closeness of family and friends, and assistance offered by people throughout the country and the world.

» Reaffirm the future and talk in "hopeful" terms about future events.  This helps children rebuild trust and faith in their own future and the world.  Often parental despair interferes with a child's ability to recover.

» Use this opportunity to establish a family emergency plan.  Feeling that there is something you can do can be very comforting to both children and adults.

» When appropriate, issues of death should be addressed concretely.  Death is permanent and sad, so the grieving process should be acknowledged and shared.

As a parent and flight attendant, it is normal to have fears of leaving your child(ren) alone after an incident or disaster.  Should these feelings persist, asking for help for yourself and other family members is encouraged.