The terror and severe stress most children feel after a disaster such as an earthquake or bombing manifest themselves in a number of ways. This book provides a tool for parents and others responsible for children's well-being to prepare for a disaster experience. The book's introductory chapter examines the nature of disasters--natural and human-made--defining terms such as trauma and stress, and detailing symptoms of stress. Factors that influence how well or poorly a person handles a disaster are also explored. The remaining chapters are: (1) "Children's Emotional Reaction to Crisis"; (2) "What To Do before a Disaster"; (3) "True Stories: The Shaking Earth"; (4) "What To Do during a Disaster"; (5) "Mental, Emotional, and Physical Reactions to Disaster"; (6) "True Stories; The Blowing Wind"; (7) "What To Do after a Disaster"; (8) "Help after a Disaster"; (9) "True Stories; The Burning Forest"; (10) "Special Family Problems after a Disaster," on coping with problems that may arise with specific family members, including the elderly, adolescents, and disabled; (11) "Cultural Differences in Handling Stress and Disasters," on communicating with disaster workers from other cultures; (12) "True Stories: The Crazy Man," an account of a gunman firing into a school yard; (13) "An Overview of Some Disasters"; (14) "The Media's Impact"; and (15) "The Aftereffects--Years after a Disaster," on both the positive and negative effects, and how the families described in the preceding chapters have fared. Two appendices contain a list of emergency materials to purchase in preparation for disaster, and text to read aloud into a tape reorder to make a pre- or posttrauma relaxation tape. Contains 13 references. (HTH)