Early Adversity and Its Impact on Children’s Development

According to the Office of Early Childhood Development under the US Department of Health and Human Services, early exposure to intense and prolonged adversity may trigger toxic stress in children. The early activation of a child’s stress response system without adult support may cause irreversible changes in brain development, causing physical and psychological damage(1).

Thanks to recent scientific research advances, medical professionals may now use advanced medical imaging technology to monitor your child’s brain development. Pediatricians also rely on screening checklist tools to know if your child suffers from toxic stress(2).

Adult support and psychotherapy may help ease the harmful effects of toxic stress(3). Reports from the American Psychological Association (APA) suggest that sleep quality also affects the severity of stress(4).

You may try using natural treatment options for a restful sleep to help manage your child’s stress symptoms.

Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are events involving all types of abuse and neglect occurring before age 18. Below are some cases of ACEs, as stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)(5):

• Witnessing violence
• Experiencing violence, neglect, or abuse
• Having a household member attempt suicide or die by suicide
• Growing up in a household with substance abuse or mental health issues
• Growing up in an unstable home due to parental separation or family members being in prison

At ACEs Connection, we believe that ACEs and their harmful effects are preventable. Below are some helpful tips to prevent ACEs.

Create a Stable and Nurturing Household for Your Child

Ensuring that you have a stable and nurturing home for your child may help prevent ACEs. According to Dr. Andrew Garner, former chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), building and sustaining safe, nurturing, and stable relationships can help prevent ACEs(6).

Garner added that a nurturing relationship with a comforting adult may help young children turn off stress responses(7).

Promote Healthy Social Norms

Norms refer to group-level beliefs and expectations about how members of a group should behave. Exposing children to toxic social norms indifferent to violence and adversity may exacerbate stress and trigger ACEs(8).

Below are tips to help promote healthy social norms that may help your child overcome adversity(9:

• Encourage your child to seek help and break the stigma around help-seeking in the community
• Promote healthy and positive norms around masculinity and gender
• Foster a mindset that protects against violence towards children, intimate partners, and peers
• Support other parents and positive parenting, including norms around healthy and effective methods of discipline

According to a 2014 review published in Health Education Research, public education campaigns may help parents understand the cycle of abuse. Campaigns discussing child physical abuse may(10):

• Positively affect parenting practices
• Reduce children’s exposure to parental conflict
• Lessen child behavior issues
• Boost parental self-efficacy and knowledge of actions, which may help prevent child abuse

ACEs Connection launched a Changemaker Campaign aiming to educate the community about the effects of trauma. The campaign aimed to gather individuals who seek to make a difference in children’s lives.

Connect Your Child to Caring Adults and Activities

You may encourage your child to create healthy relationships with other caring adults who are positive role models.

According to a 2016 study about the prevention of youth violence, having children spend time with responsible adults may help prevent ACEs and improve future outcomes for the youth(11).

Caring adults may include teachers, neighbors, sports coaches, extended family, or community volunteers.

You may also get your child involved in mentoring programs, which pair children with an adult volunteer.

These programs aim to foster healthy relationships that may contribute to a child’s skill development, academic success, growth opportunities, and future education and employment outcomes.

Mentoring programs may be held in a school or community setting. Youth of all ages are encouraged to participate.

Ensure a Strong Start for Your Child

You may also get your child to participate in high-quality childcare and preschool enrichment programs to help them build a strong foundation for future learning and opportunity.

High-quality childcare and preschool programs may help boost your child’s social, physical, emotional, and cognitive development. It may also help improve your child’s language and literacy skills(12).

Conduct Thorough Research About ACEs

You may conduct further research on your own about ACEs. Conducting research may help you understand toxic stress in children and prevent ACEs.

You may join ACEs Connection’s webinars that aim to educate participants about the effects of childhood trauma.

ACEs Connection webinars involve a group of interdisciplinary education, health, and human service professionals. The webinars also invite community members and organizations that want to help prevent and reverse the harmful effects of toxic stress.

References

1. US Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Early Childhood Development. Early Childhood Adversity. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ecd/ch...ent/early-adversity#
2. Hornor, G. (2015). Childhood Trauma Exposure and Toxic Stress: What the PNP Needs to Know. Journal of Pediatric Health Care. https://www.jpedhc.org/article...-5245(14)00344-7/pdf
3. Franke, H. (2014). Toxic Stress: Effects, Prevention and Treatment. Children, 1(3): 390–402. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...rticles/PMC4928741/#
4. American Psychological Association. Stress and Sleep. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press...es/stress/2013/sleep
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violencepr...tudy%2Ffastfact.html
6. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Reducing Toxic Stress in Childhood. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/homeles...xic-stress-childhood
7. Ibid
8. CDC. Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violencepr...f/preventingACES.pdf
9. ibid.
10. Poole, M. K., Seale, D. W., & Taylor, C. A. (2014). A systematic review of universal campaigns targeting child physical abuse. Health Education Research, 29(3), 388-432.
11. David-Ferdon, C., Vivolo-Kantor, A. M., Dahlberg, L. L., Marshall, K. J., Rainford, N. & Hall, J. E. (2016). A comprehensive technical package for the prevention of youth violence and associated risk behaviors. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
12. Ibid