(Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the Westside Current on February 3 and is reprinted with permission.)
Julie Cederbaum
By JAMIE PAIGE
We’ve received a lot of questions at Westside Current about how to help children process the fear and uncertainty that come with wildfires. To provide expert insight, we sat down with Julie Cederbaum, Associate Professor at USC’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.
In this video, Cederbaum shares practical advice on how to talk to kids about wildfires in a way that acknowledges their fears while helping them feel safe and supported. She also provides a list of resources, including books that can help guide conversations about worry, big feelings and grief.
Click the video to hear her expert guidance: click here.
Check out this list of recommended children’s books that can help kids navigate their emotions during challenging times:
- A Terrible Thing Happened – Margaret Holmes
- Ruby’s Worry – Tom Percival
- Ravi’s Roar – Tom Percival
- Scaredy Squirrel – Mélanie Watt
- The Boy with Big Feelings – Britney Winn Lee
- The Invisible String – Patrice Karst
- Grief is an Elephant – Tamara Ellis Smith & Nancy Whitesides
- Everywhere Still – M.H. Clark
- Home: A Story of Resilience and Healing – Carrie Barnes
- My Heart – Corinna Luyken
- The Heart and the Bottle – Oliver Jeffers
- One Wave at a Time – Holly Thompson
- What We Will Build – Oliver Jeffers