Abstract
Highly stressful life events, such as the experience of a life-threatening situation or witnessing sudden death, serious injury, or suicide, pose an extraordinary challenge for psychological processing. They are causally related to the risk of developing various psychological and psychosomatic trauma disorders. Based on this knowledge, the tasks of psychosocial emergency care are the prevention of psychosocial stress consequences, the early identification of further need for help or care, and the provision of adequate help for coping with stress. If children are affected by an emergency, they are in a different position than adults due to developmental psychological aspects.This article describes the special features of emergency care for the target group of children in a practical way. Based on selected research findings from the fields of psychotraumatology and psychosocial emergency care, it examines in particular the question of the effects of caregiver behaviour on children's processing of emergency events. Corresponding conclusions for the practice of psychosocial emergency care are drawn. In addition, general recommendations for the acute care of children are presented and challenges in practice are discussed.The psychosocial emergency care of children requires an adapted approach compared to the care of adult victims. Behavioural competence and stability of the caregivers have an influence on the child's ability to cope. Depending on the time of the intervention, psychosocial emergency care requires different competences. Low-threshold access to support services is a challenge in care practice.