Blog

By Sally Weale, Photo: Blend Images/Rex/Shutterstock, The Guardian, June 14, 2022 Children who learn to play well with their peers by the age of three are likely to enjoy better mental health later in childhood, according to research from the University of Cambridge . The study is said to be the first to establish a connection between “peer play ability” before children go to school and improved mental health at the age of seven. Researchers say it is the quality – rather than quantity – of...

So often alcohol and abuse live in the same house, significantly impacting children who are silently suffering. April is both Alcohol Awareness Month & Child Abuse Prevention Month, bringing together the need to raise awareness of their co-existence in homes that may otherwise appear safe. These children need protection, and healing. For a short, this video package a huge, emotional message. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8L8Dz_j7l8

By Christian Caron, Photo: Cheriss May/The New York Times, The New York Times, April 12, 2022 The worsening state of mental health among children has prompted an influential group of experts to recommend for the first time screening all children ages 8 to 18 for anxiety, one of the most common mental health disorders of childhood . A draft of the new guidelines, which is open to public comment , will most likely be finalized later this year. It was issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Preventive...

Hi. I'm so excited about this day. I sincerely hope you can join us. Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrf-6przwjHNSJHhnmgnB-jT5iVTFmMqNz

Trauma-Responsive and Resilience Building Practices for Early Childhood Educators (ECE), Leaders, Organizations, and Systems: A Three-Part Program Our region is excited to partner with the Center for Optimal Brain Integration (COBI) to provide a three-part virtual training series (an opening institute, a six-part community of practice, and a closing institute) for early childhood educators, organizations and system leaders. Join us as we deepen our advocacy for and increase trauma-informed...

Sure, tons of little kids might say they want to be a firefighter when they grow up, but for 3-year old Oliver Lipinski, there was no time like the present. When his parents Courtney and Chris drove by the Parksville Fire Department on volunteer recruiting day, it was as if destiny itself had called. Oliver wanted to be a firefighter. And he wanted to be one now! In his defense, Oliver already had some pretty impressive and qualifying skills. First off, he was knowledgeable about fire...

Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race is the book we’ve been waiting for! The team (Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Isabel Roxas) did an incredible thing: they explained race and racism to young children. Not only did they do it in a few pages of a board book, but they also provided guidance to the adults who will read it to children. As soon as you open the book, the reader is greeted with colorful representations of the authors and illustrator, as well as a note on the purpose and...

By Melinda Wenner Moyer, Photo: Dmitry Kostyukov/The New York Times, The New York Times, March 24, 2022 Kids and teens in America are spending more time than ever using screens and social media, with the number of hours spent online having risen sharply during the pandemic, according to results from a survey released Wednesday. The survey , published by the nonprofit research organization Common Sense Media, found that overall screen use among teens and tweens increased by 17 percent from...

Early childhood trauma or adverse events in the absence of natural supports or a nurturing caregiver may interrupt and negatively impact brain development and affect behavior and long-term emotional and mental health. Early experiences in life that are positive and negative shape the architecture of the brain. When a an infant or young child is exposed to chronic stress or traumatic events, the brain's emotional center, the amygdala, reacts. In a state of constant fight, flight or freeze,...

Our faith in humanity has been restored! An older gentleman named Gene, who has dementia, sits outside his home nearly every day and waits for the school bus to drop off the neighborhood kids so he can say hello to them. A woman shared a clip of Gene via TikTok , explaining that every day Gene "makes his way outside, not even knowing why," but that something "every day tells him to go outside and wait." She also shared that "Mr. Gene's memory resets" about every 15 minutes, but he somehow...

By Michael Fitzgerald, Illustration: Christine Ongjoco, The Imprint, March 17, 2022 In a wood- and marble-paneled Washington, D.C., hearing room last month, President Joe Biden’s nominee for a top child welfare post delivered a stunning number to United States senators: Despite all the devastation families experienced following the emergence of COVID-19, there were roughly 1,000 fewer children in the Oregon foster care system when compared with two years prior. Rebecca Jones Gaston cited “a...

By Audrey Smolkin, 3/17/22, https://positiveexperience.org/category/blog/ Below is an interview with Audrey Smolkin, the Executive Director of the new Center on Child Wellbeing and Trauma. The HOPE Team worked with Audrey and her team to incorporate the HOPE framework into their new website. Learn more about this new center and how HOPE contributes to their amazing work in the Massachusetts community! Please introduce yourself and your work to our readers. I am the Executive Director of the...