Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Many important areas of the brain including the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus make up the limbic system.  (Berger, 2013) The limbic system matures between the ages of 2 and 6, helping with emotional regulation. (Berger) High levels of stress during early childhood can damage the limbic system. Natural disasters are one of the many stressors that children may experience all over the world.  Nurturing caregivers can help young children to cope with the stress.

I grew up near the base of Mt. Diablo, in a suburb of San Francisco. My siblings and I loved riding our bikes to the end of our street where a creek separated our neighborhood from the mountain wilderness. We spent our days exploring the creek, collecting tadpoles and making damns. On weekends, our family took day trips up the mountain to picnic and hike.

One morning when I was 5 years old, I woke up to the smell of smoke and ran to my mother. She explained to me that Mount Diablo was on fire and we wouldn’t be able to play outside that day. I was terrified! I remember going back upstairs to look out my bedroom window and could see the flames of the forest fire. I cried for all of the animals on the mountain and was sure that the flames would also eventually destroy my house and community. My mother forced me to eat that day and I wasn’t interested in playing. I just wanted to stay close to my mom as she comforted and reassured me that everything was going to be O.K. That night on the evening news, I could clearly see that things were not O.K. My parents let me sleep in their bed and I had nightmares about the flames engulfing our family. My mother was right, a few days later the fire was out and our lives returned to normal. Mt. Diablo has had several forest fires sense then, but none that had the same effect on me personally. To this day if I see or hear about a forest fire, my mind immediately goes back 45 years to that horrible fire.

In researching natural disasters and their impact on the development of children around the world, I choose to look at East Japan and the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami that swept coastal villages out to sea and caused major damage along the coast in March of 2011. The earthquake damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and thousand of residents in the region had to be evacuated. In this series of disasters, over a half million residents were left homeless and millions were without water and electricity. More than 18,000 people lost their lives. (Brown, J.A., Jimerson, S.R., & Saeki, E.  )

Unfortunately, Researchers have found that 25.9 per cent of the children between the ages of 3 and 5 who survived the disasters in Japan suffer from symptoms including vertigo, nausea, and headaches, with some exhibiting worrying behavior such as violence and withdrawal. (Sydney Morning Herald, 2014) The children were scared from losing family and friends, seeing their homes destroyed, being separated from parents, or the sight of the huge wall of water that crashed ashore.  Professor Shigeo Kure from the Tohoku University School of Medicine explains that young children who do not receive the necessary care to recover could develop much worse problems in later life. The problems can include developmental disorders and learning disabilities, which could have a domino effect on academic achievement and future employment. (Sydney Morning Herald)

            While natural disaster are inevitable, being well prepared to keep young children as safe as possible is vitally important. Communities that have crisis prevention plans in place stand a good chance of being able to help the children and families they serve by keeping stressors to a minimum during disasters.

References

Berger, K.S. (2013) The Developing Person Through Childhood, Sixth Edition

Brown, J.A., Jimerson, S.R., & Saeki, E.  Natural Disasters, University of California,

 Santa Barbara, Retrieved form:

http://ponline.org/publications/booksproducts/BPSCPI_30.pdf

Sydney Morning Herald (2014) Japan: One in four tsunami children need mental care (2014) Retrieved from:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/japan-one-in-four-tsunami-children-need-mental-care-20140127-hva28.html