The Napier Kindergarten Association says children showing signs of distress after Cyclone Gabrielle are often reacting to how the adults around them are coping.

It said children at kindergartens in Napier and Wairoa have been sharing their flood experiences and using them in play at the centres.

General manager Helen McNaughten said it was important that parents and staff looked after their own mental health first.

“It’s a little bit like being in an airplane, and having the oxygen mask drop down, you know what’s the importance of to take care of yourself so that you can then provide support to others,” she said.

McNaughten said kindergartens had been supporting teachers and whānau care for children affected by trauma, as well as self-managing their own trauma.

“There are some agencies we can refer children or their whānau to, if we think that it is reaching a point where that support is required,” she added.

She said sharing of experience in play showed children were processing their trauma well.

– RNZ