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By Renate Raman and Joren Slaets, Photo: Screenshot from article, The New York Times, March 23, 2022 Three years ago, we came across a short article about Missing You, a summer camp in Belgium where children struggling with grief can come together and bond with their peers. It struck us as an incredibly pure idea, and we wanted to know more. What does a grief camp look like? Is it a sullen, sad affair? Does it really help the children? And what do they do there? In our research, which was...

Development of Memory Caregivers may have noticed their baby’s developing memory – like crying when they see the doctor or remembering hand movements to their favorite song or game. In your visits, you can build on this by asking the baby to follow simple directions, like touching their toes, giving a high five, or making an animal sound. When they do it (if they do it), offer praise for the connections they are making! “You remembered that from last time – way to go. Your brain is working...

KEY POINTS When people observe traumatic events occurring to others, they can suffer vicarious trauma, also referred to as secondary traumatic stress. Lessons can be learned from witnessing the adversity of others. Vicarious posttraumatic growth can include benefits to one's relationships, resilience, self-confidence, and purpose in life. People struggling with challenges such as depression or anxiety disorders should be prepared to seek support when news becomes too intense. During an...

Even if someone with an identified trauma history is privileged to have therapy and other mental health support, their partners, friends, and other loved ones tend to be their primary support system. These 5 tips could help: 1. Listen. Often we worry that we need to have the perfect thing to say or some other insightful response, and then get tripped up in thinking of something to say. In reality, just listening reflectively shows much more support than most responses. Showing some eye...

Navigating Adoption , a new podcast from AdoptUSKids in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council, brings together individuals and families with lived experience and adoption experts to discuss the joys and challenges of the adoption journey through the telling of authentic stories. Each episode is approximately 30 minutes and presents educational and uplifting content. Topics span the adoption spectrum,...

By Caitlin Gibson, Photo: Contributed Family Photo, The Washington Post, March 17, 2022 The sticky note left on Amber Briggle’s desk was scrawled with a name, a phone number and the words urgent and private . When Briggle, a mother of two and a small-business owner in Texas, arrived at her office on Feb. 28, she felt sure she knew what the note meant: Another parent of a transgender child — perhaps one who was under investigation by the state’s protective services agency — was calling for...

Independent Feeding Learning to feed themselves is important for babies’ regulation and fine motor skills. Being able to stop when they’re done allows babies to control how much they eat – and learn their bodies’ own signs of fullness. Feeding can exercise the small muscles in a baby’s hand and assist in learning the pincer grasp – a preliteracy skill that facilitates writing. Whenever possible and safe, encourage families to allow babies to feed themselves. While it may be messy, it’s an...

By Jacqueline Toner, PhD, Magination Press Family, October 7, 2021 Whether from television news reports, the car radio, digital media, or adult discussions, children are often bombarded with information about the world around them. When the events being described include violence, extreme weather events, a disease outbreak, or discussions of more dispersed threats such as climate change, children may become frightened and overwhelmed. The latest installment in the bestselling What To Do...

By Patrice Gaines, Image by Chelsea Stahl/NBC News; Getty Images, NBC News, December 30, 2021 Parents say their Black children have had to grow up faster, especially in the post-Trump era, facing issues most white children don't confront until they’re adults, if at all. This year has been full of stress, chaos and uncertainty for all parents — whether it’s adjusting to the impact of the pandemic on jobs and children’s school schedules or trying to protect them while they were ineligible for...

By Lydia Dentworth, Photo: Lambert/Getty/The Atlantic, The Atlantic, March 11, 2022 Two years is a long time in any child’s life. It’s half of high school and most of middle school, time enough for a grade schooler to notch several inches on the kitchen doorframe and for toddlers to leap from first words to conversations. For the babies born in March 2020, just as the pandemic was declared, two years make up their whole lives. From the minute these children were born in empty maternity wards...

By Melinda Wenner Moyer, Image by Derek Abella, The New York Times, March 15, 2022 As Texas’ governor attempts to criminalize medical treatments for transgender youth, experts say there are many ways to help adolescents who are questioning their gender. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas declared last month that medical treatments given to transgender adolescents, including puberty-suppressing drugs and hormones, could be considered child abuse under state law. Opponents of the move swiftly responded...

By Zoeann Murphy and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Illustration: The Washington Post, The Washington Post, March 15, 2022 The wave of refugees flooding through Europe is striking not just for its historic scale and speed, but because half the people who have fled the war in Ukraine are children. Many have had to say goodbye to their fathers before undertaking difficult and disorienting journeys with mothers and siblings, sometimes waiting more than a dozen hours in the cold before being allowed to...