Tagged With "America Hate Its Children"
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How I Taught My Kids to Meditate [blogs.psychcentral.com]
In my last post , I wrote about why I started teaching my kids to meditate. In this post, I’ll share how I taught them, and what I did when they lost interest. I want to start out by saying that I don’t think formal meditation is the best way to teach mindfulness to young children. Kids often do better with concrete, fun activities, especially when they can move their bodies. (I’ve shared over 100 different ways to teach mindfulness to children in my book, Ready, Set, Breathe: Practicing...
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How Love Can Help Your Child Become More Compassionate [greatergood.berkeley.edu]
I was running errands this weekend with my preschooler, who operates at a leisurely pace under nearly all circumstances. Clutching my shopping list, I headed straight for the produce section as soon as I entered the grocery store. He decided to stop at the floral section. He picked out a bouquet, placed it in our shopping cart, and said, “This one is beautiful for you, Momma.” My son reminded me that love is a good reason to pause—and a recent study by psychologist Mirka Hintsanen and her...
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How "Sesame Street" is helping kids learn to cope with trauma [abcnews.go.com]
Big Bird and his " Sesame Street " buddies are taking on a new mission: helping kids learn to cope with stress and trauma. Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit offshoot of the long-running children's program "Sesame Street," launched the powerful new initiative, which was designed with the help of psychologists, the same week that the nation was rocked by the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The initiative includes materials for parents, caregivers and social workers, as well as...
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How to Foster Empathy in Children [nytimes.com]
As the year’s end approaches, most Americans get bombarded by emailed and snail-mailed requests for donations to all manner of charities, A to Z. I’m an easy target, a softy readily seduced by impassioned pleas to help improve the well-being of people, animals and the environment, and I often respond to more appeals than my earnings warrant. This year will be different, thanks to advice from one of the leading experts on empathy, Dr. Helen Riess, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard...
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How to Help a Child Struggling With Anxiety [npr.org]
By Cory Turner, National Public Radio, October 29, 2019 Childhood anxiety is one of the most important mental health challenges of our time. One in five children will experience some kind of clinical-level anxiety by the time they reach adolescence, according to Danny Pine, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health and one of the world's top anxiety researchers. Pine says that for most kids, these feelings of worry won't last, but for some, they will —...
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How to Use "Children Impacted by Addiction: A Toolkit for Educators" Thursday, November 1st @ 11 a.m. ET
President & CEO Sis Wenger will address the plight of children living with addiction - an adverse childhood experience (ACE) often accompanied by additional ACEs - in their families, and its impact on their ability to be successful in school. A walk through the toolkit will be included. Register for the webinar here>> NACoA, in collaboration with Addiction Policy Leadership Action Network (APLAN), is proud to announce Addiction Policy Forum's release of Children Impacted by...
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Immune Biomarkers of Early-Life Adversity and Exposure to Stress and Violence - Searching Outside the Streetlight [jamanetwork.com]
By Nicole R. Bush and Kirstin Aschbacher, JAMA Pediatrics, November 4, 2019 Evidence of an association between early-life adversity and heightened risk of chronic disease in adulthood has been found, but the optimal biomarkers for identifying vulnerable or resilient individuals remain unclear. Global trends, including widening socioeconomic disparities, the refugee crises, and climate change, increasingly sculpt trauma exposure and call for scalable early-risk identification and treatment...
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In a converted bus in Tijuana, a school emerges for asylum seekers (Los Angeles Times)
By Alejandro Maciel, December 4, 2019, LA Times TIJUANA — It’s a Friday morning and, as at any other school, children are cutting paper, drawing, reading aloud and playing with friends. There’s some shouting and pushing too, and their teacher patiently arranges the desks and gives instructions. What’s unusual is the setting: the inside of a passenger bus that has been converted into a classroom. The school is part of the Yes We Can Mobile Schools project of the Yes We Can World Foundation ,...
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In a County with More Babies Than Any Other, Childcare Comes at a Cost - And Not Just for Parents (newamericamedia.org)
In California, childcare for infants costs as much as tuition in the University of California (UC) system, according to new data from the Lucile Packard Foundation of Children’s Health. In 2014, parents of infants in California spent an average of more than $13,300 on childcare. That year, UC tuition and fees were just over $13,200. Achievement gaps start early. According to a report this year from the Economic Policy Institute , children from more affluent backgrounds tend to perform better...
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In the Arena with NOW Podcast Episode, "Cultivating Leaders of Color in Early Care and Education" (27 min)
The Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) is excited to share the third episode of In the Arena with NOW , a podcast series that lifts up the voices of community leaders who are “in the arena” -- in classrooms, playgrounds, Congressional halls, hospitals, and neighborhood streets -- working to make sure that all children and families can live healthy, thriving lives. In our third episode, we speak with members of the California Consortium for Equity in Early Care and Education...
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Infancy and early childhood matter so much because of attachment (theconversation.com)
We are born to connect. As human beings we are relational and we need biological, emotional and psychological connection with others . Attachment is the relational dance that parents and babies share together. You can think of this when you see a baby look at their parent and they catch each other’s eyes in a wonderful gaze: the parent smiles and the baby smiles and then the parent kisses and the baby coos. Or, when an infant cries to tell their parent they are hungry, and the parent picks...
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International Congress in Paris: The Transition to School
For many children, the transition to a traditional elementary school setting, whether it be from home or a pre-school environment, represents a radical discontinuity - not just in terms of their physical environment, but on multiple levels, including values, behavioral and learning expectations, teacher attitudes, emotional support, etc. What if, in line with the latest neuroscientific discoveries about brain maturation, we were to re-envision early childhood education as commencing at birth...
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Is This as Good as Childcare Gets? [TheAtlantic.com]
“Money has been a constant struggle,” says Kim Silva of her 30 years as an early-education teacher in Massachusetts. “One unexpected expense can put you in the hole for months.” Silva, 46, is the lead teacher in a preschool classroom at NorthStar, a childcare center in New Bedford, Massachusetts, that largely serves children whose parents’ income is low enough that they are eligible to receive financial subsidies from the state to help pay for care. Silva has worked there since she was 15,...
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Is Universal Pre-K Worth the Cost? [ChildTrends.org, Trend Lines]
"A new working paper released by the Upjohn Institute and Georgetown University’s Center for Research on Children in the United States suggests that the benefits of universal pre-K exceed the costs of administering such programs. This study, which I co-authored, examines the Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) universal pre-K program in Oklahoma. We found that the benefits (specifically, increased earnings and reduced crime of TPS pre-K participants as adults) outweigh program costs by almost 2-to-1.
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Is your school a buffer zone against toxic stress?
The challenge of the fast pace and the strain of living in the 21 st century is the chronic stress of keeping up with volume of information, expectations and adverse experiences that leads to stressors of daily living. Adults have become good at adjusting to and compartmentalizing these stressors. Children and adolescents however are struggling to keep up and are in fact caving under the weight of the stresses. In addition, many children lack adequate nurturing and supports needed to give...
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Issue Brief 61 - Addressing Trauma in Early Childhood [chdi.org]
Young children (under age 7) are exposed at high rates to potentially traumatic events such as abuse, violence, and loss of a loved one. Over half of all victims of child abuse in the U.S. are under age six. 1 Despite this, young children who are victims of trauma receive trauma-focused behavioral health treatments at much lower rates than older children. Since 2008, of the more than 10,000 children in Connecticut that have received effective trauma treatments, only 800 of these children...
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It's More Than Pay: Striking Teachers Demand Counselors and Nurses [nytimes.com]
By Dana Goldstein, The New York Times, October 24, 2019 In a typical week, Adrienne Vaccarezza-Isla, a school counselor in Chicago, might help a dozen eighth graders apply to high schools across the city. Or try to convince a mother that her daughter, who had seen her get shot years earlier, should join a group for students dealing with trauma. Or work with sixth and seventh graders on time management. Even though she is the only counselor for 650 children at Avondale-Logandale Elementary...
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Kids at Hope Storytelling at the Beyond Paper Tigers Conference 2019 (Video)
It was an incredible opportunity to experience the Beyond Paper Tigers Conference this year. One of our Head Start teachers, Lyn, and myself arrived in Pasco a day ahead to participate in the Course 2 Trauma-Informed training offered by Community Resilience Initiative. Thus began our excitement that would last for the following days - the training giving us strategies and ideas to improve the work we do in serving children and families. Following the training was a networking opportunity...
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Kids of Color Often Shut Out of High-Quality State Preschool, Research Says [blogs.edweek.org]
By Andrew Ujifusa, Education Week, November 6, 2019 A study of 26 states and their preschool programs finds that as of roughly two years ago, a mere 1 percent of Latino children and just 4 percent of black children in those states were enrolled in "high-quality" state-backed early-learning opportunities. That's one main conclusion from a new report from the Education Trust, an education civil rights advocacy group. "Young Learners, Missed Opportunities: Ensuring That Black and Latino...
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L.A. teen moms in program that allows their children in class graduate from high school (abc7.com)
PANORAMA CITY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A group of students who studied in a classroom alongside their babies at a Panorama City school received their diplomas Monday. When 19-year-old Teresa Campa attended classes at the Assurance Learning Academy, her 5-month-old daughter Lydia usually sat with her. "Once I found out I was pregnant, I knew I had to finish high school," Teresa Campa said. Campa is one of nine teen mothers who received their high school diplomas thanks to a curriculum called...
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Lack Of Child Care Rating Systems Leaves Parents In A Bind [NPR.org]
There are rating systems for hospitals, nursing homes and doctors. So why is it so hard to compare providers of child care? Part of the reason is that there are no nationally agreed-upon standards for what determines the quality of child care. The standards that do exist are formulated in each state, and they vary widely. For example, some states require that child care workers have a teaching certificate. Others require certain college courses. Some have strict ratios of how many caregivers...
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‘LAUNCH TOGETHER’ HIGHLIGHTS EARLY CHILDHOOD TRAUMA PREVENTION PILOT FOR RURAL AREAS [Ark Valley Voice]
Professor Ayelet Talmi, Ph.D., was the keynote speaker for the May “Launch Together” conference at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort Conference Center.
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Looking for childcare in Fresno? Be ready for waitlists, high costs and to quit your job (fresnobee.com)
A new study from the UC Berkeley Early Childhood Think Tank and the American Institutes for Research found that the San Joaquin Valley doesn’t have enough daycare and preschool spots for its population of young children, which will continue to grow through 2030. The shortage affects both middle- and working-class families, the latter of whom face waits for subsidies while the former shoulder steep tuition costs for full-time care. Both groups have to contend with a scarcity of openings in...
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Low wages undermine efforts to improve the quality of preschools, federal report says [EdSource.org]
Efforts in California and other states to raise the quality of child care and preschool programs are being undermined by the low wages that workers earn in jobs that now require more skills and education, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Education released Tuesday. In California, preschool teachers were paid an average salary of $31,720 in 2015, about half of what California kindergarten teachers earned that year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report said.
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Mindful News Roundup: On Our Minds (mindful.org)
Mindfulness in preschool A new initiative in Miami, Florida, is assessing how mindfulness in families might cultivate resilience and reduce domestic violence. The pilot program is headed by Scott Rogers , a mindfulness teacher and director of Miami Law’s Mindfulness in Law Program . Rogers has developed mindfulness exercises to be integrated into an Early Head Start educational setting, where preschool teachers, parents, and young children can learn about and practice mindfulness together—in...
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Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs [migrationpolicy.org]
A child’s early years are a time of exceptional growth, and ones that can be profoundly affected by traumatic experiences. Research has firmly disproven the idea that infants and toddlers are “too young” to be affected by such experiences, leading to an increased awareness of the need for trauma-informed services for children. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs have the potential to play a central role in identifying and addressing the effects of trauma, with lifelong...
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My Working Week: ‘A Pupil is Worried Her Mum will Turn up at School Drunk’ [theguardian.com]
By Anonymous, The Guardian, December 9, 2019 Monday I work in schools, supporting children who are struggling including looked-after children, who are not being cared for by their birth parents. Some are with other family members. Others are with foster carers, and some may be in children’s homes. They make up 1% of the population and are the most vulnerable children in education. They achieve much lower grades and are 10 times more likely to go to prison than university. My role is to try...
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New Alaska ACEs data reinforces importance of investment in early childhood
Pat Sidmore, our expert for all things data and ACEs and a planner for the Alaska Mental Health Board, Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, has collected new data that outlines when Alaska's children (0-17) acquire their ACEs. The slide below paints a pretty grim picture showing that our children are accumulating 50 percent of their ACEs before the age of 3, and more than 26% of them before the age of 1. Please feel free to share this slide as you see fit.
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New early response program for family trauma in early childhood [au.educationhq.com]
Early Childhood Australia (ECA) is rolling out a new program for educators — Early signals. First Responses. Funded by the NSW Domestic & Family Violence Innovation Fund the program will resource and support early childhood educators and carers to better recognise and respond to young children who have been exposed to or have experienced family violence. The focus of the Innovation Fund on long-term prevention and early intervention strategies is aimed at ensuring educators receive...
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New early response program for family trauma in early childhood [au.educationhq.com]
Early Childhood Australia (ECA) is rolling out a new program for educators — Early signals. First Responses. Funded by the NSW Domestic & Family Violence Innovation Fund the program will resource and support early childhood educators and carers to better recognise and respond to young children who have been exposed to or have experienced family violence. The focus of the Innovation Fund on long-term prevention and early intervention strategies is aimed at ensuring educators receive...
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New Report Calls on Governors to Lead the Charge for Early-Childhood Education [Education Week]
Next month, 20 new governors and 16 re-elected governors will start their terms. Many of them made early-childhood education a part of their campaigns, and the Center for American Progress (CAP) released a report Thursday with recommendations for an early-childhood agenda for these new leaders in 2019. The report lists several things governors should do during their first 100 days in office to show a commitment to early-childhood education. "We think it's really important to set this from...
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New Report Explores Paid Family Leave: How Much Time is Enough?
A growing body of research is finding that, on the whole, job-protected paid family leaves of adequate duration and wage replacement lead to more income and gender equality, significant reductions in infant, maternal and even paternal mortality, improved physical and mental health for children and parents, greater family stability and economic security, business productivity, and economic growth.
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New Report: Holding Policymakers Accountable for Kids' Well-Being
New Report: Today’s shifting political sands have put kids at risk, and it’s urgent that policymakers put kids’ needs front and center. We all have the power to hold policymakers accountable for prioritizing the needs of children, and our friends at the child advocacy group Kids Impact have charted a course on how. In their new report, “Accelerating Policymaker Accountability for U.S. Kids’ Well-Being: Charting the Course & A Call to Action,” they help define a collective “True North”...
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New Sesame Street Tools Help Build Resiliency [rwjf.org]
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Sesame Workshop share a common vision of giving all children—especially the most vulnerable among us—a strong and healthy start in life. We know that childhood experiences lay the foundation for children to grow into productive and successful adults, and promoting healthy behaviors and supporting families from the very beginning can help kids thrive. But it’s equally important to address challenges that can undermine their healthy development. That’s...
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New York City aims for diversity, easier enrollment as education department moves to oversee programs starting in infancy [chalkbeat.org]
New York City is moving closer toward an overhaul of its early child care system that will put the education department in charge of some programs for children as young as six weeks old — a consequential shift that signals learning begins at birth. Among the changes the education department is proposing: a universal enrollment system that could ease the burden on parents looking for child care, and an explicit focus on racial and economic integration from the earliest ages. The moves are...
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No Small Matter (Trailer)
www.nosmallmatter.com The feature documentary NO SMALL MATTER confronts America's most pressing problems with an unlikely but powerful weapon: babies and young children. From home to childcare to preschool, high-quality early care and education has far-reaching impacts, and groundbreaking science to back it up. With a healthy dose of humor and a surprising edge, NO SMALL MATTER reveals the tragic cost of getting this wrong, and the huge payoff—for our kids, our families, and our country—of...
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Nurturing Children During Times of Stress: A Guide to Help Children Bloom by Yolo CAPC and YCCA
The Yolo County Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) and Yolo County Children’s Alliance (YCCA) are excited to share Nurturing Children During Times of Stress: A Guide to Help Children Bloom. This guide for parents and caregivers, which we are launching during Child Abuse Prevention Month, contains tips and resources that parents and caregivers can use to promote resilience in their children and themselves. Nurturing Children During Times of Stress explains the effects of intense stress or...
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Nurturing Family May Lessen Early Brain Deficits Due to Poverty [PsychCentral.com]
REPOSTED FR OM ACEs CONNECTION SITE, posted by Samantha earlier today. A new study provides compelling evidence that growing up in poverty can lead to long-term negative consequen ce s on a childs brain development,...
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NYTimes article regarding the care and payment of Early Childhood Caregivers
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/business/economy/child-care-expansion-takes-a-toll-on-poorly-paid-workers.html?emc=edit_th_20160713&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=56829562 Why is there a disconnect between the amount of love and care these workers give to children and what they get in return?
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On the Street: Network Leaders Plus Sesame Street Resources Boost Community Engagement
Guadalupe Mendoza used to drop off her kids for pre-school, then make a quick and silent retreat. “I hid away,” says Mendoza, mother of five children aged 18 to 5; all but the oldest attended the Head Start/ECEAP (Early Childhood Education Assistance Program) at Walla Walla’s Blue Ridge Elementary School. “I didn’t allow myself to have a connection with the staff.” Three years ago, Mendoza began volunteering with the pre-school. Then she attended a moms’ group. Still, she shied away from the...
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Online On Demand trauma awareness training for early care and education professionals
Penn State Better Kid Care offers an online, On Demand trauma awareness training geared specifically for early care and education professionals. This 2-hr training promotes the awareness and understanding of trauma in young children and families, and addresses the role of early care and education professionals in nurturing resilience in the children and families in their care who have experienced ACEs. More information and how to access the module is included in the attached handout.
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Only a fraction of California children eligible receive subsidized child care [EdSource.com]
As Gov. Gavin Newsom pushes to expand subsidized childcare in California, a new report indicates that the state still has a long way to go to reach a substantial share of its neediest children. Only 1 in 9 children eligible for subsidized childcare and preschool programs in California were enrolled in a program that provided full-day, year-round care in 2017, according to an analysis by the California Budget and Policy Center, a nonpartisan organization that analyzes how budget and tax...
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Oprah Winfrey and Healing from the Inside Out
Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO, National Council for Behavioral Health, brings news from the field to the National Council membership and joins the chorus of voices responding to the 60 minutes segment with Oprah Winfrey on childhood trauma in her post "Oprah Winfrey and Healing from the Inside Out" If you don’t fix the hole in the soul… you’re working at the wrong thing. – Oprah Winfrey Far too many children are growing up with a “hole in their soul.” Nearly half the nation’s children...
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Parent Handouts: Understanding ACEs, Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs (English)
Please see the main post for these parent handouts in the ACEs Connection Resources Center. These two flyers ( Understanding ACEs and Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs ) can be downloaded, distributed, and used freely. One is brand new and the other is a revision. Both flyers were made with generous support from Family Hui, a Program of Lead for Tomorrow. Translations of these flyers are in progress and will be shared by Family Hui and updated on ACEs Connection when available.
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Parents Need Flexible and Affordable Child Care [RWJF.org]
I remember how it felt when I returned to work after the birth of my first son. Trying to figure out child care was confusing, overwhelming, and downright stressful. Of course I wanted the very best care for my baby, but I didn’t know what “high quality” really looked like. Our first arrangement was with a nearby woman who cared for a few other children in her home. Pretty quickly, I decided it wasn’t the right fit. I cobbled together a mix of family and part-time care while searching for a...
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Peace of Mind: Adverse Childhood Experiences [14News.com]
Science shows children's exposure to trauma and toxic stress could lead to major health problems later in life. Walk into any classroom at Evansville's Ark Crisis Child Care Center, and you will find children who feel safe and welcome. "A lot of the kids that we see have lived in a number of different places, they don't have a home, they don't have some place to call their own," said Angie Richards Cooley, Ark Crisis Child Care Center executive director. "So we work really hard here at Ark...
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Pediatricians Group: Doctors Should Prescribe Play Time For Kids (boston.cbslocal.com)
A new report is recommending kids do something critical for healthy development – play. The report ‘ The Power of Play ’ from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all pediatricians tell children that playing with parents and peers is a critical part of healthy development, fundamental for learning life skills and reducing stress. Dr. Michael Yogman of Mount Auburn Hospital authored the report which shows playtime has decreased significantly in the past 15 years, while screen time...
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Playtime May Bolster Kids’ Mental Health [theatlantic.com]
“Play has become a four-letter word.” So says Kathy Hirsh-Pasek , a psychologist at Temple University and one of the authors of a new paper about the importance of play in children’s lives. The clinical report , published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommends that pediatricians write a “prescription for play” at doctor visits in the first two years of life. Years of research have shown that play is an important part of a child’s development, assisting in cognition, memory, social...
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Plymouth County Schools Receiving Trauma Informed Training
This opportunity is for schools and districts to receive training to develop an awareness of the prevalence of traumatic experience, its impact on academic behavior and relations and the need for a whole school approach. For the 2019-2020 school year, Carver, Marshfield, Rockland, Scituate and Silver Lake qualified to receive free training from TLPI.
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Positive Relationships Can Buffer Childhood Trauma and Toxic Stress, Researchers Say [bostonglobe.com]
By Kay Lazar, The Boston Globe, October 15, 2019 Traumatic events and toxic relationships during childhood can cast long shadows, often damaging mental health well into adulthood. But a growing body of research suggests sustained, positive relationships with caring adults can help mitigate the harmful effects of childhood trauma. And specialists say pediatricians, social workers, and others who work with kids should take steps to monitor and encourage those healthy relationships — just as...