Trauma-Informed Parenting

By Paula Span, Photographs by Todd Heisler, The New York Times, April 12, 2022 This is not what Ida Adams thought life would be like at 62. She had planned to continue working as a housekeeper at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore until she turned 65. After retiring, she and her husband, Andre, also 62, thought they might travel a little — “get up and go whenever we felt like it.” She didn’t expect to be hustling a seventh-grader off to school each weekday. But in January 2021, Ms. Adams’s...

By Matt Bruenig, Cavan Images/Getty Images, The New York Times, April 9, 2022 In some European countries, parents can choose between sending their children to heavily subsidized day care or receiving a stipend from the government to take care of them at home. In most parts of America, parents of babies and toddlers have neither option. The United States is a global outlier among developed countries for its lack of government support for child care. That’s why it’s notable that New York State...

While fewer children and youth have been sick with COVID-19 compared to adults, the COVID-19 pandemic has still had a major impact on their lives. Though typically resilient to everyday stressors, children and youth are dealing with new challenges due to COVID-19 , like social distancing, changes to their routines, and a lost sense of security and safety, making them especially vulnerable to feeling stressed, anxious, or depressed. For some children, these challenges are exacerbated by the...

By Hanna Ingber, Photo by Sean Rayford, The New York Times, April 1, 2022 When parents go their separate ways in a divorce, children are torn between two places — both should feel like home. The day my ex and I had to tell our children that we were getting divorced, we sat on the couch in the living room as they played on the rug below us. It was a pivotal moment, and our almost 5-year-old, Isaac, sensing that something big and disruptive was happening, had one very important question: What...

CDC’s milestones and parent tips have been updated and new checklist ages have been added (15 and 30 months). Due to COVID-19, updated photos and videos have been delayed but will be added in the future. For more information about the recent updates to CDC's developmental milestones, please view the Pediatrics journal article external icon describing the updates. Please click here to view CDC's Developmental Milestones. They are available in English and Spanish.

By K.C. Compton, Early Learning Nation, March 3, 2022 Babies and small children might not immediately come to mind when we think about people dealing with chronic stress. But they are—millions of them. Most recently, of course, COVID-19 has taken its toll, as families at all income levels have been hit with one stressor after another, from job loss to child care catastrophes to the loss of social time and even of loved ones and family members. It’s a lot for anyone to deal with. Equally...

Even if someone with an identified trauma history is privileged to have therapy and other mental health support, their partners, friends, and other loved ones tend to be their primary support system. These 5 tips could help: 1. Listen. Often we worry that we need to have the perfect thing to say or some other insightful response, and then get tripped up in thinking of something to say. In reality, just listening reflectively shows much more support than most responses. Showing some eye...

By Jacqueline Toner, PhD, Magination Press Family, October 7, 2021 Whether from television news reports, the car radio, digital media, or adult discussions, children are often bombarded with information about the world around them. When the events being described include violence, extreme weather events, a disease outbreak, or discussions of more dispersed threats such as climate change, children may become frightened and overwhelmed. The latest installment in the bestselling What To Do...

By Patrice Gaines, Image by Chelsea Stahl/NBC News; Getty Images, NBC News, December 30, 2021 Parents say their Black children have had to grow up faster, especially in the post-Trump era, facing issues most white children don't confront until they’re adults, if at all. This year has been full of stress, chaos and uncertainty for all parents — whether it’s adjusting to the impact of the pandemic on jobs and children’s school schedules or trying to protect them while they were ineligible for...

By Melinda Wenner Moyer, Image by Derek Abella, The New York Times, March 15, 2022 As Texas’ governor attempts to criminalize medical treatments for transgender youth, experts say there are many ways to help adolescents who are questioning their gender. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas declared last month that medical treatments given to transgender adolescents, including puberty-suppressing drugs and hormones, could be considered child abuse under state law. Opponents of the move swiftly responded...

This fact sheet from The National Child Traumatic Stress Network o ffers information for caregivers on how to talk to children about war. This fact sheet includes the potential impact and considerations when talking to children about war, how to start the conversation, understanding media coverage, and how to foster resilience. Also, now available in Ukrainian , Russian , German , and Japanese . Click here to access the resource.

Ping Pong Talk Many new parents are thrilled to hear their baby’s first coos and noises! Encourage them to respond back as if they are having a conversation with an adult. They can respond by imitating the noise the baby made, or by saying something like, “tell me more.” Then they can pause and wait for the baby to respond again. Like a game of ping pong, parents can keep back and forth conversations going with and without words. Smiling, kicking and even turning away are all part of baby...