Coping with the Pandemic: C-PTSD, Children and Picture Books
Article 3
by Lyn Lacy
1500 words
A story enriches us by giving a glimpse into someone else’s life— the good or bad, triumph or hardship, joy or sadness. A story is also a non-threatening path that can lead to insight about one’s own emotions, environment, life itself. If this were not true, stories would not have lasted through the ages.
Of the many ways adults help children adapt and thrive, sharing stories can help them both work toward a better awareness of themselves and their relationships. For stories to heal is a value of a well-told tale, an aspect that cannot be approached frivolously or by chance. How-to or so-called bibliotherapeutic books with strategies for improving behaviors or attitudes certainly have their place in child development. However, stories are better. A good story paired with thoughtful art is even better yet, for everybody likes pictures, and many children are visual learners.
Enter—the picture book.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, picture books can be especially important for parents, grandparents, caregivers and teachers who can use them in thoughtful ways to guide children in trying to understand their situation. During the crisis, children’s lives have been turned upside down as they sheltered at home, separated from friends, teachers and classroom routines. Schools sat empty while some 55.1 million K-12 students had to make the dramatic adjustment to learn from home and deal with loss of basic freedoms and loss of a sense of community they get from attending school. Not only do children share the adults’ concern about everyone’s physical health, but they also deal with adverse effects on their own emotional, social and intellectual well-being.
“Let’s face it: Right now, everyone who has been stuck at home—whether a kid or an adult—has been experiencing a lot of emotions. One minute you might have felt terrified by the latest news; the next, you might have been ready to scream if you had to be around your little sister for one more second. Admit what you are feeling. This is hard. This stinks. I don’t like this. Life during a global virus outbreak does that to you.” (Daisy Yumas, “So, How Are You Feeling?, NYT, 26 April 2020) As early as April, 2020, child welfare agencies were noting, “Our concern is children for whom school was a safe space are now perhaps in environments where they really don’t have a lot of leverage to move or go outside or leave…That means many children are suffering in silence” (Amy Beth Hanson, The Associated Press, 19 April 2020).
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that results from a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster or car accident. Another psychological disorder is called Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD; also known as developmental trauma disorder) that can develop in response to an adverse, prolonged experience, rather than a single event. C-PTSD can especially develop in children when they have been deprived of normalcy by a disruption in their lives over which they have no control or chance of resolution. (“What is Complex PTSD?” by Matthew Tull, PhD, verywellhealth.com, 30 March 2020).
This concern has grown about how children manage to cope during the pandemic and how, when they return to school, they will have to make yet another drastic adjustment with different teachers, classmates, even little things like seat assignments. ”While kids are resilient, they’re not make of stone…Ongoing stress can be traumatic…In fact, nearly any event can be considered traumatic to a child if it happened unexpectedly, it happened repeatedly and the child was unprepared for it…or watched a loved one suffer….It’s also important to remember that it doesn’t mean he’ll automatically be traumatized…and the vast majority return to normal. (However,) between 3 and 15 percent of girls and 1 to 6 percent of boys develop C-PTSD following a traumatic event.” (“Treating the Effects of Childhood Trauma,” by Amy Morin, LCSW, verywellhealth.com, 24 Feb 2020)
Having a condition like C-PTSD can be isolating for youngsters, because they do not understand or know how to articulate what has been going on. Once they return to school and perhaps for a long time afterward, they may have different identities from those they had before the pandemic. They may even exhibit certain symptoms and behavioral characteristics of C-PTSD, such as:
Anxiety, depression, sadness
Lack of self-control, inability to express needs and wants
Impulsive behavior, irritability, aggression, anger
Isolated, trouble with relationships, lack of empathy
Low self-esteem, loss of interest, feeling hopeless
Lack of concentration, memory, decision-making
Fear for safety, lack of trust, feeling helpless
Medical problems, sleeplessness
(“Treating the Effects of Childhood Trauma,” by Amy Morin, LCSW, verywellhealth.com, 24 Feb 2020)
Characters in picture books act out some of the same behaviors at home, at daycare or at school. They throw temper tantrums. They get the blues. They feel lost. Sharing these books offer children the opportunity to look and listen for ways a character copes. A sensitive approach while reading aloud gives an adult the opportunity to call attention to a key point or have conversations about the character and situation in the story. Simply asking may be enough—“Have you ever felt like this character?”, “Have you ever been in such a situation?” or “Has anyone you know ever acted like this?”
This is not to presume that the authors and illustrators intended any such underlying messages when they created their books. This is also not to suggest these exquisitely-crafted picture books are like bibliotherapeutic titles. Gentle messages, however, may be on their pages if one only looks and listens.
This is also not to say other helpful messages are to be found in these extraordinary picture books. Calling attention to joy and success over adversity brings out the power of a picture book to provide children with comfort during bad times. Finally, this is not to suggest such messages are obtrusive in the storytelling experience. A conversation should not interrupt the narrative, but key points may be saved as a focus for conversation after the book is closed.
Conversation starters may be something like these:
Has someone in the community helped you or your family?”
What do we have that we can share with others?
What is something to do when you feel bad?
Who is special in your life?
What was a good thing to do when you could not go to school?
What gives you sweet dreams?
What can you do that makes your family proud?
How can you make a special new friend?
When you regret something, what can you do?
Can you think of a way to make good things out of bad?
What is a way to get over anger or disappointment?
Have you ever gotten frustrated when you cannot explain what you want?
What can you do when you don’t understand?
Exemplary 21st century picture books such as those below can help children understand and articulate what has been happening in their lives. These picture books are reviewed in Article 4, with a gentle conversation starter noted by an asterisk*. They offer a unique attempt to help children cope, such as a story about an obstacle overcome, a fortuitous turn of events, a lighthearted surprise or an example of strength and hope.
Now more than ever children are looking for validation, reassurement, comfort, honesty, positivity, security and hope (“What is Complex PTSD?” by Matthew Tull, PhD, verywellhealth.com, 30 March 2020). For children today with C-PTSD, the hope is they may come away from sharing their feelings with belief in a brighter future and all the good that life can bring.
"Go easy on yourself. You're doing great. This is just really hard." Thank you, Bryan.
Titles reviewed in Article 4:
Bang, Molly. When Sophie’s Feelings Are Really, Really Hurt, 2015, Blue Sky Press
Bottner, Barbara. Priscilla Gorilla illustrated by Michael Emberley, 2017, Atheneum
Chabbert, Ingrid. The Day I Became a Bird, illustrated by Raul Nieto Guridi, 2016, Kids Can Press
Cordell, Matthew. King Alice, 2018, Mcmillan
de Sève, Randall. Zola’s Elephant illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, 2018, Houghton Mifflin
Evans, Kristina. What's Special About Me, Mama? Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe, 2011, Little Brown
Frame, Jeron Ashford. Yesterday I Had the Blues, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, 2003, Random House
Juster, Norton. Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie illustrated by Chris Raschka, 2008, Di Capua
Loney, Andrea J. Double Bass Blues illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, 2019, Knopf
Love, Jessica. Julián Is a Mermaid, 2018, Candlewick
McKissack, Patricia C. Goin’ Someplace Special, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, 2001, Atheneum
Mora, Oge. Saturday, 2019, Little Brown
Nyong’o, Lupita. Sulwe, illustrated by Vashti Harrison, 2019, Simon and Schuster
Paschkis, Julie. Where Lily Isn’t, illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine, 2020, Henry Holt
Pippin-Mathur, Courtney. Maya Was Grumpy, 2013, Flashlight Press
Shannon, David. Grow Up, David!, 2018, Blue Sky Press
Shea, Bob. Who Wet My Pants? illustrated by Zachariah OHora, 2019, Little Brown
Shulevitz, Uri. How I Learned Geography, 2008, Farrar
Smith, Sydney. Small in the City, 2019, Neal Porter Books
Stein, David Ezra. Interrupting Chicken, 2012, Candlewick
Tan, Shaun. The Red Tree, 2000, Vancouver: Simply Read Books
Willems, Mo. Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! 2003, Hyperion
Willems, Mo. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, 2004, Hyperion
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