We’re excited to announce our new parenting blog on StressHealth.org, an initiative of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco, and invite everyone to visit it.
In 2018, we launched the Stress Health public education campaign to educate the public about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress and to create a call for change. By bringing these issues to the forefront, Stress Health aims to engage and activate parents and other caregivers to demand access to early intervention and trauma-informed care. Most importantly, we want to help parents recognize the powerful force they can be in preventing and reversing the impacts of toxic stress in their children.
The blog covers the special challenges of parenting with ACEs, but it also features short, lively, science-based stories to help parents, teachers, and anyone else still coping with their own childhood trauma and adversity.
Parents and children with ACEs have a lot to work through, but there’s room for hope. We want our blog to reflect the promise and excitement of the latest research on resilience. For example, we show parents how they can jumpstart the healing process by creating a warm atmosphere at family dinners, bedtime routines and other “anchoring rituals” that create a sense of security and connection.
Research shows that the right kind of support and care can mitigate the impact of toxic stress in children and help them bounce back. There are ways parents can support a healthy stress response in their children and teens: through good sleep, nutrition, exercise, mental health, mindfulness and healthy relationships. Together, all these important things can help turn the stress response down and can reduce the potential negative effects of ACEs. Each month we will roll out articles and stories that touch one of more of these interventions. Here're a few of them:
Why you shouldn’t give kids with ACEs a pass on chores
Pets Rx: How a furry companion can help protect kids against stress
Family meals falling by the wayside? Time for the Family Dinner Project
Parenting with ACEs: Some tips for supporting your toddler
11 ways to help your child through a natural disaster
Kids, trauma and sleep problems: What you can do
Time to change your parenting playbook?
Building resilience with Daniel Tiger
Holiday blues, ACEs, and embracing gratitude
Whether you read the blog at our Stress Health website or sign up for our newsletter, we welcome your comments and suggestions. In addition, please feel free to share your story, tell friends and fellow parents about us, and join our community on Facebook and Twitter!
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