Tagged With "children"

By Rachel Rabkin Peachman, The New York Times, Aug. 16, 2022 Racial differences in medical care are part of a theme experts are seeing “over and over” again. Judith McClellan, a social worker who lives in Salisbury, N.C., knows what it’s like to see her child in pain. Her daughter Kyarra, 15, has sickle cell disease, an inherited red blood cell disorder that most commonly affects Black people and frequently causes pain so excruciating that emergency opioids are necessary. When she was...

By Catherine Pearson, The New York Times, June 15, 2022 A new study suggests that spending time with therapy dogs may help lower children’s stress levels even more than relaxation exercises. An unexpected benefit of adopting Annie, my family’s 40-pound, floppy-eared mutt, is the soothing effect she has had on my children. My sons often come home from a long, packed day at school and flop down on the floor next to Annie’s bed, lying quietly while she licks their fingers and cheeks. Or they’ll...

By American Psychological Association, Updated July 6, 2022 Parents can offer assistance and support to help their children better manage life’s challenges by being available, listening actively and responding thoughtfully. According to APA’s annual Stress in America survey, many Americans—both adults and youth—report experiencing significant stress. Parents overwhelmingly reported concerns regarding child(ren)’s development, including social life or development (73%), academic development...

“The insidious effects of childhood poverty disrupt nearly every aspect of child development. The Adaptation to Poverty-related Stress Model posits that one of the key mechanisms through which poverty disrupts healthy development is a combination of heightened exposure to poverty-related stress and reliance on specific coping strategies to manage stressors that may contribute directly to symptomologies….”

One of the first steps to parenting and caring for a child with loss/trauma is understanding your own Core Issues. The Seven Core Issues Workbook by Allison Davis Maxon and Sharon Kaplan Roszia, co-authors of Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency , provides parents and caregivers with the opportunity to explore, identify and address their own issues as well as their child's through various experiential exercises and activities . The Seven Core Issues outlined in the workbook include:...

By McKenna Saady, ParentsTogether, September 19, 2022 More than half of people experience a traumatic event at some point during their childhood — and more than a quarter of children will witness or experience trauma before the age of four. Between school shootings, COVID-19, and families being separated at the US-Mexico border, incidents of childhood trauma have pervaded the news in recent years. What is childhood trauma? Trauma is defined as the experience of an emotionally distressing...

It's not too late to lead your own book study of What Happened to You? by Bruce D. Perry, MD PhD, and Oprah Winfrey in your community! Register NOW to attend the Book Study Leader Check-In with Children’s Trust Fund Alliance on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 7-8:30 p.m. ET This is an opportunity to share your experiences as a book study leader, raise questions, make recommendations, and celebrate with us. Open to all book study leaders and those who may want to facilitate a study! This event is part of...

When we consider the high numbers of children that are sexually abused it is disappointing how little is out there to support parents in prevention efforts. Although Erin’s Law has brought Sexual Abuse Prevention to many children in the school setting, parents are still often at a loss as to how to talk to their children about this difficult topic. As a therapist who has specialized in treating child sexual abuse for twenty years, I have crossed paths with thousands of children and families...

PACEs Connection is thrilled to share that our first-ever Connecting Communities One Book at a Time initiative involved thousands of people; scores of book studies! The PACEs Connection's Connecting Communities One Book at a Time initiative helps people bring their community together around books that help us have critical conversations about trauma, racism, inequity, protective factors, positive childhood experiences, and the role community plays in preventing and healing trauma and...

By Claire McCarthy, MD, Harvard Health Publishing for Harvard Medical School, September 22, 2022 All of us can lower the odds of unintentional shootings. Guns hurt and kill; it’s a simple fact. And while most gun injuries and deaths are the result of an assault or suicide, unintentional injuries happen all the time, including to children and between them. In the six-year span between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, there were at least 2,070 unintentional shootings by children under...

By Jeffrey D. Shahidullah, PhD and Rebecca A. Baum, MD, FAAP, Healthychildren.org Children, teens and families are navigating difficult times. Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether day-to-day stress is getting the best of us, or when something more serious may be going on. In either case, talking with your child's pediatrician is a great place to start. Starting the conversation Many pediatricians check for mental health concerns at well-child visits. The doctor may ask your child...

By Blanca Torres, USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, Illustration by Anna Vignet/KQED, September 30, 2022 Jasmine Cuevas stood at her kitchen stove preparing migas, stirring a pan of eggs and tortillas before calling her four children to dinner. She spooned servings onto plates while asking each about their day. “I get out of work, get them from school and then we come straight home,” she said. “And, it’s a wreck: dinner, homework, reading, bath and then bedtime by 7:30 at the...

By Roy Boorady, MD, Child Mind Institute, August 18, 2022 All kids worry sometimes. But when worry makes it hard for them to participate in daily life, they may have an anxiety disorder. Because anxiety often affects a child’s thoughts and feelings more than it affects their behavior, it can be hard to spot. It’s also possible for a child to be generally happy but still so anxious that it interferes with some aspect of their life, like school or socializing. Common outward signs that a child...

By Aparna Bole, MD, FAAP & Claire McCarthy, MD, FAAP, HealthyChildren.org Every day, pediatricians see how climate change affects children’s physical and mental health. When pediatricians talk with parents about what’s good for their kids, part of our job is connecting the dots between climate change and their child’s health. Connecting the dots For example, pediatricians often talk with parents about how a healthy diet and exercise help children grow into healthy adults. When we talk...

By Blanca Torres, USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, October 18, 2022 When Mariana Pimentel thinks about her childhood in a small town in Mexico, she remembers being surrounded by anger and desperation. Her parents worked long hours to support Pimentel and her brothers and sisters, so they were often absent. When they were home, her parents communicated by yelling. “I want my kids to grow up in a different environment from how I grew up and not repeat the same mistakes,” said...

Combining three generations of family experience with ACES research and positive psychology, THE WINNING FAMILY helps prevent dysfunctional behaviors and discipline problems from the inside out.

Outdoor play is key to the health and well-being of children. Getting muddy and staying out till sunset is great for children’s development and can help them refine their motor coordination skills. Kids who play outdoors have improved cognitive skills, too. A recent systematic review found that children who have regular access to green spaces show improved “mental well-being, overall health, and cognitive development.” Children who play outside also had better self-discipline and showed...

Foster care is a crucial system designed to provide temporary homes and care for children who are unable to live with their biological families. While foster care aims to offer stability and support, the experience can be emotionally complex for children. One emotion that often plagues foster children is guilt. Guilt can arise from a range of circumstances and can significantly impact a child's emotional well-being and overall development. This article delves into the various sources of...

The brain doesn’t fully develop until about the age of 25. This fact is sometimes quite surprising and eye opening to most adults. It can also be somewhat overwhelming for new parents and professionals who are interacting with babies and young children every day, to contemplate. It is essential to realize however, that the greatest time of development occurs in the years prior to kindergarten. And even more critical to understand is that by age three 85 percent of the core structures of the...

Viewpoint July 31, 2023 Seeking a Balanced View of Child Protective Services Howard Dubowitz, MD, MS 1 ; Richard P. Barth, PhD, MSW 1 Author Affiliations Article Information JAMA Pediatr. 2023;177(10):991-992. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.2578 A s professionals working closely with child protective services (CPS) for many years, we are well aware of its shortcomings, particularly undertrained and overwhelmed staff who may inadequately protect children and serve families as mandated by...

Emotion has an enormous impact on imprinting memory in our brains. I had an experience when I was 6 years old that included emotion and I have the memory of it all of these many years later. It was a 6 year old birthday sleepover party. There were 7 girls invited that lived near each other and played together most days. A girl new to the neighborhood was invited only due to the requirement of the birthday girl’s mother. I was also invited. I lived a block away but did play with these girls...

The story of a Tennessee mother denied an abortion and help in raising a premature baby. Life unravels. We too often focus on abuse in the household when abuse by public officials remains in the shadow.