Dealing With Kids' Fear of the Weather

With tornado sirens blaring, thunder crashing and lightening forking through dark clouds, most anyone might feel a mixture of unease and awe at nature’s dramatic display. Many parents, however, would prefer to skip the whole show, given the emotional havoc storms wreak on their kids.

DeTonya Childress, South Kansas City, MO, says her daughter Alexia, 9, becomes frantic during severe weather. Alexia’s fear manifests as tears and quickly progresses to pleas for an immediate retreat to the basement.

“Tornadoes and thunderstorms are the worst,” Childress says. “When Alexia was 3 years old, she decided to sleep in her own bed during a storm. The first crack of thunder led her back to my bedroom, crying all the way. Now, once in my room, she begins to pray.”

If volatile weather sparks a crushing wave of panic in your child, calm storm preparation, soothing relaxation techniques and a dash of Weather 101 may help ease his fears.

Calm Before the Storm

Begin managing weather-related anxiety with calm, confident preparation.

“The most important thing that parents can do is prepare their children for severe weather way before it happens,” says Dr. Edward Christophersen, pediatric psychologist at Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO. “Parents need to be cognizant that their behavior directly influences their child’s behavior. So, parents should very calmly practice their threatening weather procedures.”

Create a severe weather plan with your family. Designate a safe area in your home, preferably a basement. A bathroom or closet in the middle of the house on the lowest level is the next best option. In your safe area, store a storm safety kit that includes a battery-powered weather radio, flashlight, blankets, a pair of leather gloves and safety whistles.

With storm season imminent, take a few minutes several times a week to conduct family storm drills. Set up a small table in your basement for you and your family to engage in a familiar and relaxing activity, like a board or card game. When threatening weather happens, calmly follow the plan you and your family practiced.

Relaxation Techniques

Play weather sounds for your child while you’re relaxing together, playing a game, eating dinner or while she’s doing homework. Begin with very gentle sounds like a light rain and slowly progress to more serious rain and thunderstorms.

“The rationale here is to get the child to pair or associate weather sounds with frequently occurring activities that are not anxiety provoking,” Christophersen says.

Download free weather sounds to your laptop or smartphone. Apple’s iTunesTM offers a free app for iPhone called “Sleepmaker” that Christophersen recommends.

Weather 101

Throughout the year, 41 Action News (KSHB-TV) chief meteorologist Gary Lezak facilitates weather presentations at area schools with his canine partner Stormy, the weather dog. It’s not unusual for Lezak to encounter children who fear thunderstorms and tornadoes. He finds that explaining the sporadic nature of tornadoes and how storms work can ease some of their worries. 

Lezak teaches students to track the movement of a storm. He explains that after lightening flashes, they can count “one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand” and so on until they hear thunder.

“Every five seconds is one mile, because sound travels much slower than light,” he says.

He encourages the kids to stay inside and play the game during a thunderstorm to see whether the storm is moving closer or farther away. 

When to Seek Help

Children commonly experience specific fears or phobias, but typically phobias wane as kids grow older. If your child’s phobia lasts more than six months and impairs her ability to participate in daily activities, find an experienced anxiety disorder therapist with supervised clinical experience in treating phobia. Christophersen says a reputable therapist will likely conduct a standardized anxiety screening. Avoid therapists who want to start therapy by giving your child an IQ test.

Having lived in many parts of the world, freelance writer, wife and mother Christa Melnyk Hines finds that Midwest weather is as fickle as a cantankerous toddler.