What do you think a child means when he says “I don’t know”? Especially when you’re talking about a traumatic event, such as the sudden death of his father? During the expert forum on Children and trauma (June 9 in Utrecht), communication specialists Joyce Lamerichs and Marca Schasfoort zoomed in on interactions between children and professionals talking about traumatic experiences. The main conclusion of their analysis: don’t think too quickly that a child doesn’t know or doesn’t want to answer. Children may have many reasons to say that they don’t know, and sometimes still come up with answers afterwards.
“I don’t know” may mean many things
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