March 2021

By Rachel Zimlich, Contemporary Pediatrics, November 26, 2019 The lifelong negative effects that adverse childhood experiences have on adult mental health are well-established, but new research suggests that positive childhood experiences can help mitigate the damage. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, published a study in JAMA Pediatrics revealing that positive childhood experiences are just as important as negative ones, and can actually...

By Robert C. Whitaker, Tracy Dearth-Wesley, and Allison N. Herman, Academic Pediatrics, March 10, 2021 Abstract Objectives To investigate whether higher levels of childhood family connection were associated with greater adult flourishing and if this association was present across levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and childhood socioeconomic disadvantage (SED). Methods We pooled cross-sectional data from telephone and mailed surveys in the Midlife in the United States study that...

By Idaho Youth Ranch, May 1, 2020 Just as there are adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that play a role in the future success of kids, there are also 7 positive childhood experiences (PCEs) that can offset their damage. This recent discovery comes from a John Hopkin’s study published in 2019. Researchers were looking to determine if any “protective childhood experiences” could be linked with positive outcomes as adults—increasing resiliency and offsetting some of the trauma or damage...

Virtual work, virtual groceries; everything has turned virtual since the pandemic of 2020. People can get all their work done without having to leave the comfort of their homes. It also means that our children have to adapt to a whole new educational system; virtual learning. While virtual learning offers the feasibility of learning at home, it comes with numerous issues too. One of the commonly-experienced issues is virtual learning anxiety. Not turning off the camera, constantly staying on...

By Jessica Grose, The New York Times, March 17, 2021 If your child is not potty trained, how many diapers do you have on hand right now? That’s a question I certainly wouldn’t have been able to answer with any specificity when my children were babies. But it’s a question that parents who struggle to afford the expense — about $70-$80 per month, per baby — can answer easily, because managing diaper need is among their most significant anxieties. That’s what a new study from Jennifer Randles,...

By Elizabeth Crouch, Elizabeth Radcliff, and Melinda A. Merrell, et al., Child Abuse & Neglect, February 27, 2021 Abstract Background: Examination of racial/ethnic differences in positive childhood experiences (PCEs) is needed, as the absence of supportive factors may hinder children from healthy processing and mitigation of adversity. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of PCEs in a nationally representative sample of children and determine whether PCE...

The Center for the Study of Social Policy, in collaboration with Casey Family Programs, is recruiting focus group participants for Our Identities, Ourselves: Antiracist Data Project which will uplift the voices of young people, parents and caregivers with lived experience and gather information to develop best practice guidance that supports child welfare agencies in collecting and using accurate data on race, ethnicity and other identities. We need help recruiting participants for the...

By Dr. Bob Sege, 3/15/21, positiveexperience.org/blog Our first annual summit is just a month away, and we are thrilled to announce that our afternoon breakout sessions are now open to the public! Please register at this link , which you can also find on the Summit landing page . Our virtual summit seeks to inspire a group of leaders who will, together, champion a movement to shift how we support children and families, creating systems of care based on understanding, equity, and trust. The...

By Loren McCullough and Dr. Bob Sege, 3/11/21, positiveexperience.org/blog What’s going on with families during the COVID pandemic? In partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics , Prevent Child Abuse America , and with assistance and financial support from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) , The Lucile Packard Foundation , the California Department of Public Health , and KidsData.org , we surveyed California parents, to find out how they are doing during the...

An aggressive child is not uncommon in the modern world. Unfortunately, for many parents, this is a big misfortune that they face at home when raising their child, as well as in the children's team, when their beloved baby is on the same territory with a child showing aggression. "Why is aggression dangerous?", "How to help a child with aggressive behavior?" - we will try to answer these and other questions in this article. Portrait of an aggressive child It is quite difficult not to notice...

By Anya Kamenetz, National Public Radio, March 9, 2021 Pullups for a toddler who is potty training. A bicycle. Clothes that aren't hand-me-downs. A home with heat and working plumbing. A trip to the zoo. Four in 10 children in the U.S. live in households struggling to afford basic expenses, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Now, as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the House and Senate have passed a child benefit, the first of its kind in the United...

Rene Howitt, founder of Cope24, offers professional development workshops to school districts across the nation. She also provides presentations and key note speaking at universities, teacher conferences, advocacy events and churches.