How to Calm Your Kids When They Are Scared- But You Are, Too

We had a tornado warning the other night. Since we live in NJ, in an area not prone to these types of natural disasters, things like this terrify me. It wasn’t just that our county was issued a warning, but our town and all the surrounding towns were at risk.

As someone with anxiety, I naturally panic and ask the universe to please watch over our family and home and spare us. Thankfully it did.

But as my husband, two kids and three dogs were huddled together with flashlights in case the power went out, bright lightning shot through the sky and thunderous roars so loud the TV couldn’t conceal all happened at once, I couldn’t help but be worried.

But then, I said to myself, “I’m the mom and my kids are looking to me for comfort. So I have to trust the universe and have faith that we are protected. Nothing like this has happened here before, so the chances are slim. ” And what do you know, before I knew it, the warning was over. Phew!

I kept my kids calm by keeping my anxiety under control. Showing them I was calm and collected, even though inside I was nervous, allowed them to go about with their normal behavior. My son drank a bottle and watched the news with us. And my daughter actually fell asleep!

I vow that when we move, our next house won’t have huge trees in the backyard and we must have a basement for situations like this (and toys, of course!)

Lesson learned from this post: It’s not always easy to be the grown up when you’re just as nervous about a situation as your kids–if not more because you know what can happen. But if you have faith and trust the universe, you’ll make it through. Keep calm and your kids will carry on as usual.