Trauma-Informed Parenting

By SXSW EDU, PR Newswire, February 9, 2021 SXSW EDU is pleased to announce that Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry , the co-authors of the upcoming book What Happened to You (Flatiron Books out April 27 ), will open the 2021 virtual event as the keynote session on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 at 9:30am CT . The fireside chat will feature global media icon and philanthropist, Ms. Oprah Winfrey and world-renowned brain development and trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry , M.D. Ph.D. Together they will...

By Danna Lorch, The New York Times, February 10, 2021 Before even becoming a parent, I was conditioned to believe that good mothers always put themselves dead last. At a college reunion years ago, I complimented a former classmate, a mother of three, on how strong she looked. She shrugged it off: “Oh, that’s because I never take time to make myself food. I just eat scraps off the kids’ plates.” Years later, when I was pregnant with my son, Isaac, friends who were already moms eyed my bump...

By Jessica Grose, The New York Times, February 4, 2021 In early September, as the school year inched closer, a group of mothers in New Jersey decided they would gather in a park, at a safe social distance, and scream their lungs out. For months, as the pandemic disrupted work and home life, these moms, like so many parents, had been stretched thin — acting as caregivers, teachers and earners at once. They were breaking. As are mothers all over the United States. By now, you have read the...

By Amber Dance, Knowable Magazine, February 3, 2021 Childhood has been upended by the Covid-19 pandemic. Carefree playdates, team sports and school have been off the table or strictly online for many of the world’s 2.2 billion children, replaced by isolation, boredom, family stress and worry. What will be the consequences? Children have weathered disasters before, so researchers know plenty about the risks as well as the potential for recovery. For example, after flooding in Buffalo Creek,...

From The National Traumatic Stress Network, February 2021 Resource Description Provides information to parents and caregivers about how to support children after the U.S. Capitol Attack. This fact sheet offers guidance on understanding media exposure, the potential impact of this event on children and families, what parents and caregivers can do to help, and what to do if your family was a part of the event. Published in 2021 [ Please click here to download the resource .]

By Rebecca Honig, Director of Content & Curriculum This weekend I had an opportunity to listen in to a mixed age conversation about dreams. It was a group of PreK-2nd graders. Under normal circumstances they’d be meeting in person to do projects, play together, learn together. This year, like so many things, they come together over Zoom. Two weekends ago they had gathered to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a day of service. This weekend, to build on what...

photo courtesy of Diana Rivas Diana Rivas had studied child development as an undergraduate, but it wasn’t until she joined a parenting group in 2019 in Davis, California, that she began to reflect on the way she herself was raised — and punished. Diana Rivas “My dad had experienced a lot of abuse,” she recalls. “He was raised in a small town in Mexico, and his father had used heavy corporal punishment against him. He did the same with me, because he thought that was the way discipline...

By Simon Brooks, Moms, January 25, 2021 Research has shown that childhood emotional trauma often determines whether an individual develops a physical disease as an adult. This means that the experiences that an individual goes through in their childhood years have a huge effect on the quality of life that they live as adults. A rough childhood can predispose one to physical diseases. The brain adapts and evolves from birth according to life experiences. Most experts agree that what goes on...

By Alia E. Dastagir and Alia Wong, USA Today, December 22, 2020 It has been almost a year of pandemic parenting, an all-consuming, ever-changing chaos that has tested American families in unprecedented ways. Schools closed, then opened, then closed again. Playdates were fewer and fraught with new rules. Working parents often did their jobs without child care, while parents of teens did their best to buffer against a litany of losses – friends, sports, proms, graduations. For many low-income...

Worried that your child may be secretly cyberbullied? There are signs and changes in your child’s life that can serve as a telltale. This may include subtle or not-so-subtle behavioral changes in your child’s school and social life, how they handle the use of technology, and changes in their emotions and behaviors. You’re a parent, right? You know your child like the back of your hand. Their daily behavior and routine. And even if you find it hard to keep abreast with the latest toys (read:...

By Beata Mostafavi, Michigan Health, January 18, 2021 An estimated one in five teenagers has symptoms of a mental health disorder such as depression or anxiety, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens. But the first person a teen confides in may not always be an adult – they may prefer to talk to another teen. And three-quarters of parents in a new national poll think peers better understand teen challenges, compared to teachers or counselors in the school. The majority...

Fussiness and Colic Between 3-8 weeks of life, many babies become more fussy, with peak fussiness at 6 weeks. All babies need help calming their bodies during this time. However, some babies cry more than others and are more difficult to soothe. We refer to this as colic if a healthy, well-fed infant cries for more than 3 hours per day, more than 3 days a week for more than 3 weeks in a row. Typically colic begins around 3 weeks of life and the crying is more common in the evening hours. The...