Hi Dawn:
Tomorrow, in the Parenting with ACEs Group, there's a chat and the topic is Parenting with ACEs & PTSD. The chat has both parents and professionals. You can ask what works for parents, what obstacles are, etc. and also see what others are doing, encountering and trying.
There are parents of all ages.
If you would like to join and ask this question to those on the chat, feel free. You can even leave a question ahead of time if the chat time doesn't work for you to join live. And that way we're sure to address it.
- You have to join the Parenting with ACEs Group (here's the link to groups). https://www.pacesconnection.com/groups
- And once you have done that, you can go to the group tomorrow at 10 a.m. PST / 1 p.m. EST and the chat is the featured post at top of the page. Or, here's the link: https://www.pacesconnection.com/g/Parenting-with-ACEs
As a parent with high ACEs who worked in a shelter for homeless families with kids and parents I think the role of exercise and joy is really important. And access to exercise one can do WITH kids, affordably and with symptoms of traumatic stress is a tall order.
Simple things like breathing, stretching and having meetings outside and in a playground or a park, when possible, can all help.
Making the exercise fun (Zumba) or relaxing (yoga) and having daycare at first, so parents can learn and then family classes, can help.
Having the things that get college kids to a meeting (pizza, water, granola bars) also works.
Obviously, it's hard to prioritize working out when hunger, stress and crisis are pressing down from past or in present. But classes that happen in or near where parents already are (school, daycares, transportation, doctor's office, library, work, govt. offices) and just a small playground and some things (frisbee, hula hoop, bubbles) are something.
Cis