Blog

In less than a week, parents and caregivers for children impacted by early childhood trauma will be learning and supported at the Standing Strong Virtual Conference - Sept 13-15, 2021, hosted by the Attachment & Trauma Network, Inc. (ATN) . This 3-day event is focused on helping those caring for children with developmental trauma, complex PTSD and attachment challenges learn advocacy strategies and focus on their own care/burnout needs now that their children are back in school. Speakers...

By Guest Author, 9/7/21, positiveexperience.org/blog Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics released the fifth snapshot in the Family Snapshots: Life during the Pandemic series. In past blogs , we discussed the results of the survey that the HOPE team, in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics , Prevent Child Abuse America , and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) , conducted using the national online platform YouGov.com . This survey asked a national...

By Claudia M. Gold MD, September 7, 2021 Among the most common sources of suffering for new parents – sleep deprivation- may lead to a desperate search for certainty. Lack of sleep can strain relationships between parents, siblings, and grandparents. It may aggravate or even precipitate depression. Once parents find their way to my pediatrics practice where I specialize in infant-parent mental health, they have typically tried all sorts of methods and prepackaged sets of instructions. They...

By Sara Darnell, Children's Book Association, July 20, 2021 Psychologists everywhere have noticed an uptick in children experiencing anxiety, stress, confusion, and other issues that have come as a result of 2020. We should note that these are completely normal things for children to experience, but what is the best way to work through these feelings? Many psychologists have turned to children's books to teach young readers how to deal with their emotions. [ Please click here to see the list .]

By Erik Vance, NY Times, Sept. 1, 2021 The ability to bounce back is more important now than ever; here’s how to impart it. In my early teens, my dad took myself, my best friend and our neighbor on a grueling backpacking trip connecting California’s Yosemite Valley to Half Dome to nearby Clouds Rest mountain and back again. By the second day — halfway up Clouds Rest, on wobbly legs and besieged by mosquitoes — we finally mutinied. The three of us made it clear to my father that we were done.

By Bobbi Dempsey, The Guardian, August 25, 2021 F our weeks ago the Biden administration officially began implementing the child tax credit in what was hailed by Columbia University as an initiative that could “cut child poverty in half in the US”. Most eligible families have received just one monthly installment so far – but for many American parents struggling to make ends meet during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, it has already made a huge difference. The American Rescue Plan – passed in...

Each month of the Big Heart World initiative , we will share a guide for parents and caregivers. The guide will introduce the the big idea of the unit, provide an overview of the resources that are available, and suggest ideas for how parents and caregivers can use the Big Heart World’s resources to support their children’s social and emotional learning. Feel free to print and share! August's guide is on Empathy . Past guides have covered the following themes: Friendship Similarities and...

By Lisa Damour, New York Times, Aug. 23, 2021 Adolescents are readying for the next step in a seemingly endless set of challenges. Here’s how to help them regulate their emotions. Many teenagers are feeling understandably upset as they face a third school year disrupted by Covid-19. Some are frustrated about the return to masks and other precautions. Others are nervous about how they will stay safe at school , or worried about eagerly anticipated activities being postponed or canceled. They...

Through deeply personal conversations, Prevent Child Abuse America board member and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?" in their new book "What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing". Focusing on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves, this new book opens the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way. Please...

By Carley Stern, The New York Times, August 24, 2021 When Jackie Lynn’s niece gave birth after using heroin during her pregnancy, Ms. Lynn sprang into action. She thought she had turned the page on parenting, after raising two children and living alone for 14 years. But while her niece pursued treatment, Ms. Lynn moved to Oregon, from Washington State, in 2009 to care for the baby and his four siblings. Her job as a manager became untenable, so she took a pay cut — even as her expenses...

By Joanne Chen, Greater Good Magazine, August 23, 2021 In January 1995, Tariq Khamisa was 20 years old. Tony Hicks was 14. Khamisa, a college student, was working his shift delivering pizza the night Hicks’s gang tried to rob him. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune , when the gang leader handed Hicks a gun and told him to shoot, he did. Khamisa died. Hicks was tried as an adult and ultimately received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Justice seemed to have prevailed—a severe...

By Diane Mehta, New York Times, August 25, 2021 With some employers looking to bring staff back to work on-site, here’s how parents can ask for schedule accommodations. Kate Westrin, a mother of two in Denver, used to commute to the office four days a week for her job as a people experience manager at Xero, a cloud-based accounting software company. After working from home throughout the pandemic, returning to her previous schedule felt impossible, she said. With the Delta variant...