Trauma-Informed Parenting

By Anne Vasquez, Photo: Allison Shelley/All4Ed, EdSource, December 13, 2021 After 18 months of distance learning, I took a breath before the start of this school year. What would the new normal look like? I feel like I’m still holding my breath, waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop that comes in the form of an end-of-semester report card. As the mother of a newly minted middle school student and a high school junior, I knew this year would test my personal code of ethics about grades:...

By Ashley Abramson, American Psychological Association, October 1, 2021 What psychological research suggests about how to recognize and overcome it Candice Roquemore Bonner, PsyD, a clinical psychology resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, knows the parenting-while-working juggle well. She moved to Boston with her two children to begin her residency in June 2020, functioning solo until her husband could join them. Managing her burgeoning career and her family’s well-being—all...

By Melinda Wenner Moyer, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2021 The safer children feel, the more they can show their true selves — warts and all — experts say. And that’s good for their development. There was a moment over Thanksgiving break when my 7-year-old bossily instructed her 76-year-old grandfather, whom she rarely sees, to “stop taking pictures and put down your camera,” and boy, I wished I could hide under the dining room table for the rest of the evening. I wondered: What kind of...

Join Julie Beem & Ginger Healy of ATN's Podcast - Regulated and Relational - where their guest for Episode 16 is Cissy White. Cissy is a self-proclaimed Joy Stalker and Truth Teller, and boy, is she ever! Her passion is to make trauma informed changes for survivors of trauma who are parenting with ACEs. With Julie and Ginger, Cissy discusses her path to healing. She says, “Trauma informed change must be led by survivors” and ATN could not agree more! In 2013, Cissy began her blog, Heal...

National Grief Awareness Week "Crying isn't the hurt, it is the process of being unhurt". Althea Solter ------------ The chronic grief of children and youth who are impacted by a parent's substance use can often go unacknowledged or be invalidated. As such, it is important for professionals to understand the chronic loss that can occur in a child's life when a parent struggles with addiction, particularly if both parents struggle. This grief can be compounded by a stigma that prevents...

These days, there’s no shortage of parenting styles . But after working with thousands of families for more than 20 years, I’ve found positive parenting to be one of the most effective — and my personal favorite. Unlike authoritarian parenting, which places high expectations on children with little responsiveness, or uninvolved parenting, where there is little nurturance or guidance, positive parenting is an empathy-based approach that involves techniques such as praise and firm compassion —...

A sweet, beautiful little girl sees her reflection as she gets her hair done by her loving mom. And then she utters three little words that would break any mother’s heart: “I’m so ugly!” Her mom gasps, instincts kicking in. “Don’t say that!” But by then the daughter has already broken into tears. It’s hard to watch this innocent child’s self-esteem so devastated. Luckily, mom knew exactly what to say to help her daughter remember her worth. It's easy to see why this touching video has now...

From the National Association of School Psychologists, this web page features a thorough explanation of chronic stress, grief linked to the pandemic, and warning signs that caregivers and educators may experience when caring for youth during COVID-19. The web page includes a range of recommended resources for parents and educators and resources for general self-care. Click HERE to access this resource.

Uplift Press is excited to announce… Our free new ebook for parents can put a sweet spin on the holidays. Self-Esteem: The Best Gift for Your Children...and Yourself is an excerpt from The Winning Family by Caven and thought leader Dr. Louise Hart. A new edition of bestseller The Winning Family is coming out in 2022. More positive parenting resources can be found at www.upliftpress.com . Self-Esteem: The Best Gift (for your children AND yourself!) A free ebook for parents Excerpt from The...

On November 17, 2021, Roadmap to Resilience: Supporting Children Experiencing Stress and Trauma announced its official website launch and release of podcast episodes, short videos, and other digital tools. Roadmap to Resilience guides the listener through specific, trauma-informed approaches to supporting children and their families. Created by a task force of international child trauma experts, the collection of free resources provides practical, accessible, and timely digital content for...

My son is old enough to remember me being a single mother and the two of us living in an apartment with cockroaches, wearing someone else's hand me down clothes, and standing in the long foodbank lines hoping nobody would recognize us. Granted this was a short time in our life, still a memory we both can recall. Even when we were living in poverty, my son and I together found joy in giving back often. It was a way for us to thank the community for taking care of us during our time of need,...

This resource collection from ZERO TO THREE provides ideas for parents who are wondering how to raise children who will stand up against racism and injustice. There are books that parents can share with their child to nurture identity, anti-racist resources for parents to read, and ideas for those who want to raise children in a more just and inclusive world. Click here to learn more!