How do parents talk to their kids about the flooding in Central Texas?

First, allow the child to approach you and see what type of questions they have. Let them speak freely and stick to age-appropriate facts, while also validating their emotions or what they might be expressing.

You do not want to give them too much information or detail because they may become more overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious about the situation.

How do you make your child feel comfortable approaching you with their concerns and emotions?

We always want the child to approach us without us putting our perspective into the situation. I would try sitting at the table together, bringing out what they love best. For example, a 5-year-old might like to color, or a 12-year-old may enjoy crafting. Let them take part in the activity and ask them how they feel about the recent events.

 If they do bring it up, this is when you can put them at ease by talking through their feelings. You can tell them, "Okay. Let's do this activity together and as we're doing this activity, let's express how we are feeling."    

Let them guide the conversation. Listening and answering questions age appropriately while reassuring them.

Why is it important to have conversations with your children?

We must talk to them because not talking about it can cause trauma, distress, anxiety and even PTSD. Children might see the news and reflect on themselves, thinking, "It could happen to me."

Parents and caregivers should explain that you are there for them. If the child is going to camp and has concerns, families can come up with a plan to offer reassurance.

What should parents do if their child is worried, but they, too, are grappling with their own emotions?

If you are not ready to have the conversation, we can assist them or have the other parent/ caregiver step in.  It is always great to have someone who is calm and collected, rather than someone who is anxious, overwhelmed and distressed, because you will just pass on that anxiety to the child.

Cook Children’s wants to reassure parents and caregivers that you are not alone. If you are not ready to have the conversation, you can seek professional help.  Learn more about Cook Children's behavioral health services or to schedule an appointment for your child, contact 682-885-3917.

When should you seek out professional help?

 If your child is having symptoms:

• Loss of appetite
• Feelings of overwhelm
• Feelings of helplessness
• Jittery
• Difficulty concentrating
• They are not able to do their daily routine.

Learn more about Cook Children's resources online and behavioral health services.  Families can access mental health resources 24/7 through MHMR by calling 1-800-866-2465.

Cook Children’s is here to help, know you are not alone. We are providing resources below to help support you and your child. Talking to one another and seeking assistance is a vital first step in healing. 

• If your child needs additional support, please reach out to your child’s pediatrician. We have lots of resources here: https://www.cookchildrens.org/health-resources/mental-health/
• You can also access local mental health resources for your family 24/7 through MHMR by calling 1-800-866-2465.
• To learn more about Cook Children's behavioral health services or to schedule an appointment for your child, contact 682-885-3917.
• The Parent Pass app also has many resources for families: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/parent-pass/id1597475361

Social Media posts: Please feel free to share these resources from our Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

Debbie Boudreaux, director of the transportation team and a neonatal nurse at Cook Children’s, sprang into action, scrambling to get planes to transport the infants 400 miles north to Fort Worth. (With one exception, their parents would have to drive separately.)

Read the entire story here. 

• Standing water can contain the risk of diarrheal disease.
• As little as 6 inches of swiftly moving water can sweep you off your feet. If you have to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving. Use a stick to check the firmness of the ground in front of you.
• If floodwaters rise around your car, when water is not moving or not more than a few inches deep, abandon the car and move to higher ground. You and the vehicle can be swept away quickly. Call 911 in case of an emergency.
• If your vehicle is trapped in rapidly moving water, stay in the vehicle. If the water is rising inside the vehicle, seek refuge on the roof.
• If your car is parked in an area that is flooding, don’t go after it.

Children shouldn't play in the water that remains after a heavy rain. Any toys exposed to flood or heavy rain water should be disinfected. Have your child wash their hands frequently. Remind your children to wash their hands with soap and water, while singing "Happy Birthday" twice.

“There are various risks to exposure to flood waters or standing waters,” said Chris Curtis, a registered nurse who works in Cook Children's Urgent Care Center in Fort Worth. “Parents should talk to their children to make sure that kids avoid eating or drinking anything contaminated by flood water and practice good hand hygiene after contact with the water.”

If a family member has open wounds that have been exposed to the flood water, the wounds should be cleaned with soap and water and then covered with waterproof bandage. The exposed wound should be monitored for swelling, redness or infection. If the wound does look infected, seek immediate medical attention.

Curtis also reminds us that chemicals and electrical shock also can cause serious injury or death if a child is playing in the water. The risk of injuries with sharp objects also increase because they have been moved around by the rushing waters.

To learn more about how to protect yourself during a flood, visit the American Red Cross' flood safety page.

Four species of venomous snakes found in Texas: rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, copperheads, and coral snakes.

Rattlesnakes are most populous in dry areas with prevalent rocks and canyons. When threatened, rattlesnakes will curl into a defensive position and rapidly shake their rattles. Rattlesnakes can be recognized by the “rattle” apparatus at the end of the tail. This species of snake has scales in a distinct diamond pattern, as well as a large head and fangs. Depending on the location, rattlesnakes can vary in color from brick red, buff pink, straw-yellow, beige, brownish and light gray:

Cottonmouth snakes (seen on the right), also known as water moccasins, are found where prey is plentiful. These snakes require large basking sites and will travel far from water to hibernate. Cottonmouths spend the majority of their time coiled at the edge of bodies of water or draped over nearby vegetation:

Copperhead snakes are common in wooded areas from the hardwood bottomlands in east Texas, to woody patches in the Trans Pecos of west Texas. Additionally, copperheads can be found in open areas within short proximity of woods. During the summer, copperheads are most active at night:

Coral snakes are extremely common across the state, from the pine forests in the East to the oak juniper canyons on the Pecos River. These snakes thrive in urban, suburban, and other habitats with plentiful rock crevices or plant cover:

Mark Shelton, M.D., an Infectious Disease doctor at Cook Children’s and an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, says it’s important to teach respect for snakes.

If you ignore a snake, more than likely, the snake will avoid you,” Dr. Shelton said. “But kids being kids, that’s sometimes easier said than done. Talk to your children about staying away from the snake. Don’t try to pick it up or kill it. Teach your child not to touch it or walk near it. Children should stand still when they spot a snake, then turn around slowly and walk away. Usually, the snake will crawl away into the bushes.”

Don’t be alarmed by the prevalence of these creepy crawlies within our great state, they love the sun and warmth just like us! Here are 10 tips to stay safe from snakes this summer:

1. Be especially careful of snakes after the rain. They will be seeking dry area and may be on a sidewalk or walking path they normally wouldn’t cross.
2. Don’t canoe or boat under limbs on rivers, streams and lakes.
3. Ignore the snake and they will ignore you.
4. Don’t touch or pick up a snake.
5. Don’t try to kill a snake.
6. Wear closed-toe shoes when in wooded areas.
7. Don’t put fingers under rocks and don’t crawl under houses or other structures.
8. Avoid the edges of lakes, streams, and rivers where vegetation is high.
9. Instruct your children to notify you if they see any species of snakes or other threatening animals.
10. If bitten by a snake, seek medical help immediately. Don’t open the wound or suck out the venom. Seek medical help.

• 2 deaths to begin the month of July
• 26 non-fatal drownings from June 1 to July 1, 2015
• 43 non-fatal drownings from Oct. 1, 2014 to July 1, 2015
• 4 fatal drownings during that same time frame

And now we head into the July 4^th weekend where people will be throwing pool parties at their house or apartment or going out to area lakes … and at many of those parties there will be drinking.

So what’s left to say? Sharon Evans, Trauma/Injury Prevention outreach coordinator at Cook Children’s, admits to being tired, frustrated, sad and even a little angry that no matter how much the message is delivered, kids drown.

“I feel like a broken recording at this point,” Evans said. “But I don’t know what else to do. We have to keep telling people. We have to keep getting the word out. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Tell your other family members. Kids are dying.”

And then Evans collects herself to deliver the message again.

“I don’t think people know how quickly it happens,” Evans said. “It’s just seconds and it’s a silent killer. Kids died silently. You can’t just let your kids go. Water is dangerous. It scares me because now we are headed toward the July Fourth weekend.”

If nothing else, Evans wants to make sure everyone reading this gets this point.

“It can happen to you,” Evans said. “I can say it, but I don’t think people really realize it. It can happen to you. Don’t take your eyes off of your child. You have to hold on to his or her hand sometimes. The most important thing is to be there for your child. And my God, whatever you do, you can’t let your kid go swimming or to the water alone. You have to have adult supervision.”

Evans speaks strong, but you can hear the pain and heartbreak in her voice. She’s seen a lot of this in her career and twice the amount of drownings over the last month as she saw last year. And what troubles her the most is that she knows no matter how much she speaks about drowning prevention, she will see more again.

“I wish I had a better line, a better solution,” Evans said. “I don’t know what else to say. I just know it’s preventable, if we take the right precautions.”

Click to read the following information for those precautions:

• Drownings double from a year ago 
• Be a water watcher. Adult supervisions saves lives.
• Is your baby ready for swim lessons?
• Drowning tragedy - 'I can't believe this happened to me.'
• Cook Children's drowning prevention page

I left the medical center and started the trek home. Within a few minutes, I knew it was a bad idea. Not only was it pouring, but it clearly had been for a while. The streets were filled with water. Lots of water.

After I made the phone call to my coworkers telling them it was unsafe to drive and to stay at the office, I realized that I needed to hurry to higher ground. I continued to drive cautiously.

The next 15 minutes were terrifying. I saw cars floating and people swimming on the road in front of me. My first thought was I need to get to a street that isn’t flooded. I turned onto a side street and ended up at an intersection that I knew my car couldn’t get through. The big SUV in front of me was driving through it and the water was hitting the car door. So I decided to back up. The only problem was there were cars behind me now.

I was stuck. Nowhere to go. I watched the water go from inches deep to over 2 feet in a matter of seconds. I found myself panicking. I mean seriously, I would never be stuck in a flash flood, right? Well I was.

I didn’t know what to do. I work at a children’s hospital and preach about safety to friends and family all the time. Now here I was, in a situation that I didn’t have a clue how to handle.

Do I get out? Do I stay in the car? Do I swim to higher ground? The water was so rough. It was literally swirling around my car and getting higher and higher.

Fortunately, either by the grace of the man upstairs or pure luck, all the cars behind me started to back up so I was able to do the same and eventually made my way to higher ground.

This was my first and definitely the LAST time I ever want to be in this situation. But just in case it happens again, I wat to be prepared. So I contacted my buddy at the Fort Worth Fire Department, Battalion Chief Richard Harrison and he gave me some good tips:

1. Be aware that flash flooding can occur. If there is any possibility of a flash flood, move immediately to higher ground. Do not wait for instructions to move.
2. Do not drive into flooded areas.
3. If floodwaters rise around your car, when water is not moving or not more than a few inches deep, abandon the car and move to higher ground. You and the vehicle can be swept away quickly. Call 911 in case of an emergency.
4. If your vehicle is trapped in rapidly moving water, stay in the vehicle. If the water is rising inside the vehicle, seek refuge on the roof.
5. If your car is parked in an area that is flooding, don’t go after it.
6. Do not walk through moving water. Six inches of moving water can make you fall. If you have to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving. Use a stick to check the firmness of the ground in front of you.

Chief Harrison says these same rules apply when you are in the car with a child, but make sure you give yourself more time to react. This is true if you have to leave your vehicle, especially if you have a car seat. It will take time to get out. Because of this, you have to heighten your awareness with everything going on.

Also, reassure your children that everything will be Ok and try to stay calm. I know I sure could have used my mother the other day.