Letting your child watch televised re-runs of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks could do more harm than good.

That was the advice of several local psychologists, who say the anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon would be best observed by keeping routines normal and shutting off the television set.

"I discourage it (watching television)," said Dr. Daniel Materna, director of psychology at Sharon Regional Health System's Behavioral Health Services. "It doesn't do much except stir up trauma, especially when it's not happening again. It's something we have control over. We can shut off the TV."

Materna said the anniversary will affect people differently, and reactions will vary and diminish to different degrees.

"This is a novel experience in life, outside of Pearl Harbor. There are a lot of unknowns," Materna said, adding that people are angry and may fear it could happen again.

"You can't easily deny the significance of how our world has changed ... assuming that Sept. 11 passes without major incident, people will no doubt be relieved," Materna said.

Scott Leetch, a mental health therapist with UPMC Horizon Behavioral Health Services, was called into four schools and many clients' homes last Sept. 11 to deal the multitude of emotions. He said just watching the events on television can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder in children, even though they are seeing it second-hand.

"We're going to get bombarded with news," Leetch said. "Parents should pay attention to (post traumatic stress disorder) warning signs and how to address them."

Signs of post-traumatic stress disorder in children include irritability, over-reacting to minor events, depression, anxiety and bed-wetting. Symptoms can also come through in a child's play.

"In play therapy, we see a lot of destructive-type playing, such as crashing two planes together in mid-air," Leetch said. "They're re-enacting what they saw without having a complete understanding of it."

Leetch said that children who experienced problems after last year's attacks are likely to have them again near the anniversary. He said he was already seeing those problems in August. Children who have a family history of anxiety or depression are more susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder than those who do not, Leetch said. He suggested parents calmly talk out what's going on with their kids, if they are able to explain it themselves. He also recommended that young children draw pictures to illustrate their feelings. But if parents feel they can't handle their children's fears, they should seek mental health therapy for their children, Leetch said.

Leetch said he felt leaving televisions on all day in some schools was "disruptive."

"They let the TVs go all day ... kids didn't understand," he said.

Televisions were ordered turned off by the administration in the Reynolds School District last year. This year, Sept. 11 will be just another school day, aside from a moment of silence at the high school and a red, white and blue day and patriotic song-singing at the elementary school, said Dr. Martin Friedman, school psychologist.

"People will be handling the past tragedy in a variety of different ways," Friedman said.

Last year, Friedman found himself working with adult staff members as well as students. He said even though Sept. 11 will be treated as a normal school day, he and his staff will be accessible if needed.

"I think we're just going to try to do our jobs here that day," he said. "If there are any issues, we'll be available."

Friedman said one of the key things in literature from the National Association of School Psychologists about the approaching anniversary was that no child should be forced into recognizing the day.

The NASP also recommends students cut back on television coverage, along with maintaining normal routines, participating in memorial activities and focusing on being back in school. Maintaining a sense of normalcy can help children as well as adults get through Sept. 11. Sticking with typical routines, such as going to work, school or the dentist, could be helpful, Materna said. Materna recommends marking the anniversary by "mourning what you need to mourn," renewing faith and seeking the comfort of family members.

"For me, it would be important for me to be with my family," he said.