Video: Bringing the Power of Optimism and Play to Children who Have Endured Trauma & Adverse Experiences

I'm with Carey and love hearing about this. I was at a school system in New Bedford who said, if they had to pick the one thing they've done to make change, as a trauma-informed school system, it would be this - the Playmakers program as the changes, info.. values, and student leadership permeated throughout the entire school community and culture.  

I love this program! Had the opportunity to experience a Playmakers program overview in Wilmington, NC, at the University of North Carolina Wilmington recently. The group receiving the training let me join them. I was curious as I’d heard Steve Gross close out the 2018 ACEs conference.

The training was terrific. The facilitator’s knowledge of ACEs Science was impressive. The people attending, mostly people who do home visits for a treatment sneer, were engaged and enthusiastic about what they learned about the importance of bringing play into their lives and the lives of the people they serve.

Playmakers help create the joyful Positive Childhood Experience for which Dr. Christina Bethell advocates; the type of buffering experiences that can offset ACEs, help the brain wire itself from more and more positive experiences.

The world is lucky a social worker started making “Life is Good” t-shirts, hats, stickers, mugs, and on and on, and that these “premiums” make great airport buys for gifts to take home to the kids. The message about life being good, even in the midst of a pandemic, is critical to our well-being, the well-being of our collective consciousness. That collective consciousness takes a hit from the news and the fact that fear is contagious. The good news is that a “regulated” central nervous system, aided in that regulation by playing and experiencing a bit of joy from keeping a beachball in the air for as long as possible, or moving together, or building a fort with your kid (take 30 minutes and make a memory!) can lift the spirits of all in your home. 

Play heals, and memories of play can be a “resource” to remember and evoke a pleasant feeling in a dark moment.  

So thanks to Steve Gross and his team for providing a lot of great gifts for my kids through the years as I bought your fun stickers and hats on the way through an airport. 

Thanks even more for your work over the years to remind us of the importance of providing joyful experiences whenever and wherever we can. Those experiences help create resilience, health, well-being, hope. 

Peace and Health!

Carey Sipp

SE Regional Community Facilitator

ACEs Connection

csipp@acesconnection.com