Dr. Frank Kirchner

Clinical psychiatrist Frank Kirchner said it's critical to build that trust as we experience the large-scale horrors people can inflict on one another.

Kirchner , an associate professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk , said parents ought to share their feelings with their children to show that kids aren't the only ones who are afraid.

Yes , this is very scary , and all of us feel it , he said , but when we come together as a family , as a community , we know how to take care of each other..

Still , life does go on.Staying on schedule with school , with sports and dinners at the table instead of in front of the television is just as important as an adult's initial response to a child.

"We want to encourage children to talk, and the best way to do that is through listening," said Frank Kirchner, a child psychiatrist, Eastern Virginia Medical School professor, and consultant for public schools."If we're good listeners, we will respond to the question and not flood them with our own fears and anxieties and give them more information than they're asking for."

He said children are experiencing the same emotions as adults-"shock, disbelief, anger, helplessness.The whole gamut of human emotions."

Cancelled trips

Many schools have been forced to call off class trips, both in the United States and abroad, because of uncertainty created by the attacks.School officials also warned students and parents that if security concerns about flights continue, trips scheduled for later in the year could also be canceled.

Dr. Frank Kirchner, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Eastern Virginia Medical School, says because it's a relatively new diagnosis for children, doctors have only a short track record to review for patterns of progression in children and treatments that prove most effective over time.

They don't know whether a child diagnosed will always go on to have the disorder as an adult.They really don't know what the impact of early diagnosis and treatment will be.

"We hope we're making a difference," says Kirchner, who treats a couple of children with bipolar disorder a week.
...
Kirchner, who is not involved in Eli's treatment, says it's not uncommon for parents worried about medications to turn to supplements.