Beirut’s children are likely to suffer from anxiety, night terrors

Some children might even develop feelings of guilt from thinking whatever they were doing at the time triggered the explosion, Ms Dybdal said. “Those would mostly be younger children who may still have a magical way of thinking. Older children may hold feelings of guilt related to their parents’  sadness, anger or confusion.”

Researchers found that 16 months after a large explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Denmark in 2004, children were still suffering negative psychological effects. More young children (23%) than older ones (11%) were easily startled or avoided of people who reminded them of the event.

Reunion with parents important after explosion

Dybdal continued: “This is a similar incident. Children can’t turn their anger towards someone. This happened to many people – children need to understand that and be reassured, for example by saying that doctors are helping people.”

After a major incident, children will feel safer when they are with their parents or people they trust, studies have found. Therefore, it is crucial any children separated from their parents in the blast are urgently reunited with them. To help children get over a critical incident, it is vital parents provide reassurance, information and a sense of security.
Many children in Lebanon will already have been under strain, as the country was enduring civil unrest and an economic collapse. Half a million children in the greater Beirut area have been pushed into a struggle to survive and in some cases hunger.