I’ll be absolutely honest with you: I haven’t yet told my nine-year-old twins about the flooding in Texas earlier this month. They’ll be spending this week at an outdoor camp in Vermont, in a community that has flooded for the last two summers in a row. I know that telling them about children swept away by floodwaters the week before they go to camp would only create unnecessary anxiety—anxiety that I’m still working on processing myself.
But I do believe that honest conversations with children about difficult topics are incredibly important, and we don’t always get to choose their timing. When Vermont experienced catastrophic climate-fueled flooding in 2023 and 2024, we had no choice but to talk about it. We could see the floodwaters in our community, in the submerged berry fields at the end of our road and in photos of nearby playgrounds underwater. It’s a privilege to be able to pick the timing for conversations about climate disasters, but that doesn’t mean these conversations are ever easy.
Tell Congress: Protect Our Ability to Prepare for and Recover From Severe Weather Threats
In addition to the tragedy in Texas, multiple other states have experienced extreme flooding as well this summer, including North Carolina, Illinois, New Mexico, and once again, Vermont—an experience that is becoming more common in our climate-changed world, as extreme precipitation events become more frequent and intense with warmer air that holds more moisture. Parents across the country are grappling with how to comfort children through frightening floods and their aftermath, and if you are one of them, I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Here are some ideas for talking to your kids about floods and other climate disasters, whether you’re seeing them on the news or living through them in your community:
Remember that you deserve support too
When we experience or see images of frightening disasters, especially those that impact children, we can have intense emotions. I don’t know a single parent who isn’t utterly shattered by the flooding in Texas and who isn’t thinking about their own children while reading stories about the young campers who lost their lives. One thing we know from child development experts is that kids cope best with traumatic events like flooding when they have secure, nurturing relationships with one or more adult caregivers. And when we as parents are struggling ourselves, it can be much more difficult to show up as the nurturing, connected caregivers we want to be.
Whenever possible, leaning on the support of other trusted adults—such as a partner, friend, counselor, or colleague—to help process your own emotions can help you feel more resilient and prepared to have difficult conversations about disasters with your kids. You deserve support too.
Acknowledge and validate kids’ emotions
It’s normal for children to feel worried or frightened when climate disasters happen, particularly if you or someone you love has been directly or indirectly impacted. Validate these emotions, rather than minimizing them, by saying things like: “It makes sense that you feel scared right now.” Acknowledging emotions like these helps children know that they’re not alone and validates their lived experiences. “Children are aware of their parents’ worries most of the time, but they can be even more sensitive during a crisis,” advises the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. “Pretending there is no danger will not end a child’s concerns.”
Nurture a sense of safety and comfort
Experiencing or seeing images of a disaster can disrupt children’s sense of safety. Parents can help restore this by offering presence and connection, by limiting children’s exposure to frightening media images, and by letting them know what you and others are doing to keep them safe. After a flood, you can also talk about how people are working together to recover and rebuild impacted communities. Routines can be especially comforting for children in times of intense stress as well.
Trust your instincts about what’s right for your child
Conversations with kids about floods and disasters are not one-size-fits-all: talking with young children may look very different than talking with older children and teens, and talking with a child who is neurodivergent, especially sensitive, or prone to anxiety may be very different than talking with other kids. Asking children of any age what they know about what’s happening and what questions they might have is often a good starting place. But remember that as a parent, you know your child better than anyone else—trust your instincts about approaches to difficult conversations that might be best in your family.
Remember that you have resources
Books and scripts can be an amazing resource for difficult conversations, particularly if you’re struggling with what to say. Here are a few of our favorite resources for talking to kids about extreme weather events:
- The Help Kids Cope App offers scripts for talking to kids about virtually any kind of disaster.
- Dr. Becky Kennedy offered a webinar on Parenting During the LA Wildfires earlier this year that will offer strength and support for parenting through not only wildfires but any scary weather event.
- A Flood of Kindness, by Ellen Leventhal and Blythe Russo, is a beautifully gentle book for kids age 5 to 7 about a child who lives through a flood.
- What to Do When Climate Change Scares You, by Leslie Davenport, is a fantastic guidebook for kids ages 7 to 11 who may experience climate anxiety in response to a flood.
- The Climate Mental Health Network has a wealth of wonderful resources for parents trying to navigate conversations about global warming and what it means to live in a climate-changed world.
- And here’s a longer list of books to help kids cope with and prepare for disasters.
I’m wishing you as much courage and resilience as possible as you navigate hard conversations with the kids you love this summer—and hoping you have loved ones to help you process your own emotions too.
Tell Congress: Protect Our Ability to Prepare for and Recover From Severe Weather Threats