Tagged With "support unpaid caregiving"
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A Reflection of Real Life and the Amazing Influence of People: The Saga of C-PTSD Continues
Cissy Note on Leisa's Amazing Post: This post isn't about parenting, specifically, but it is about C-PTSD which many parents are living with, sorting through and recovering from. I felt so much compassion for and admiration of Leisa reading this. I even felt some compassion for myself. I wonder how many others, while facing our ACEs feel the compassion of others or ourselves? I wonder if anyone, while battling symptoms, feels respected or admired? There can be so much shame. I hope that if...
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Helping Someone with PTSD: Helping a Loved One While Taking Care of Yourself (www.helpguide.org/)
"PTSD can take a heavy toll on relationships. It can be hard to understand your loved one’s behavior—why they are less affectionate and more volatile. You may feel like you’re walking on eggshells or living with a stranger. You may have to take on a bigger share of household tasks, deal with the frustration of a loved one who won’t open up, or even deal with anger or disturbing behavior. The symptoms of PTSD can also lead to job loss, substance abuse, and other problems that affect the whole...
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How to Avoid Being Psychologically Destroyed by Your Newsfeed (blog post)
Excerpt from this blog post, which I wrote earlier today: "This past week has been brutal, in terms of what has been coming across my newsfeed. And 2016 wasn't exactly a picnic either. So lately I've been thinking a lot about the mental health impact of a steady avalanche of Really Bad News. Many of us (myself included) deal with mental health challenges on a daily basis and being fed a steady diet of devastating world events only serves to make that harder. So I've decided to share a few...
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Unity Radio - ALL NEW Talking Wellness. Today's special guest is Michael Skinner
Unity Radio WUTY 97.9FM Worcester, MA ALL NEW Talking Wellness with Mike MacInnis. Today's special guest is Michael Skinner I'm particularly proud and happy about yesterday's "Talking Wellness" episode. Michael Skinner was a trailblazer in trauma informed peer support work, getting it done before people even knew it was a thing. A class act and genuine good guy. Definitely give this show a listen!
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Utah Psychologists Column: Supporting your child after trauma [heraldextra.com]
By Brittaini Howard, Daily Herald, March 15, 2020 Coronavirus talk is rampant on the school playground, and many children are returning home frightened. Events like the Coronavirus pandemic provide a sobering opportunity for parents to reevaluate how they help their children cope with trauma. Traumatic events are those that are threatening to a child’s safety and can be scary, dangerous, or violent in nature. These may include physical abuse, emotional abuse, natural disasters, loss of a...
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Supporting new families to prevent ACES
In an era in which young families often find themselves isolated and overwhelmed, an innovative new program in rural Massachusetts is offering support. It is harnessing the community and a body of volunteers to help families in whatever ways they need: not just be offering a slate of pre-dertermined services. To learn more about this program, called It Takes a Village, visit https://www.gazettenet.com/It-Takes-a-Village-19621448
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Tending to Yourself When There’s No Time [blogs.psychcentral.com]
You yearn to be productive, to blast through your to-do list every single day. You experiment with all sorts of hacks to attain the ultimate efficiency. If you have kids, you take advantage of their nap time, folding, preparing, putting things back, emailing, writing, working, running. There’s so much running. No wonder you often end your day feeling out of breath (and out of it). You yearn to have a tidy house, where every item has a home, and there aren’t piles of unpaid bills on the...
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The Brain Architects Podcast: Serve and Return: Supporting the Foundation [developingchild.harvard.edu]
From Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, March 11, 2020 What is “serve and return”? What does it mean to have a “responsive relationship” with a child? How do responsive relationships support healthy brain development? And what can parents and caregivers do in their day-to-day lives to build these sorts of relationships? This episode of The Brain Architects podcast addresses all these questions and more! [ Please click here to listen to the podcast and for more resources .]
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Shaming Children So Parents Will Pay the School Lunch Bill [NYTimes.com] & Note
(Cissy's Note: This story is painful to read. Kids at school who are shamed or denied lunch are not going to perform or focus better at school. They will feel shame after lunch and probably worry before as lunch time approaches. And after school have some conflict with parents. It's shame spreading and multiplying but that won't pay the bills. Reading this story gave me the creepy crawly feeling of shame remembering not having money or worrying that I didn't have enough. It made me glad...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter May 2020
Hi Folks, The May edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php or PDF - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-05-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_May_2020.pdf To sign up for an e-mail copy, please write to me @ mikeskinner@comcast.net or sign up @ Website via Contact Us, Thanks! Michael . “ Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” - Helen Keller The Surviving Spirit Newsletter May 2020 – please...
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How to Bring Caring for Kids and Elders (and Other Acts of Love) Into the Economy [yesmagazine.org]
Ask anyone about caregiving, and you’ll likely hear a story about personal sacrifice. Heather Boldon, a single mother from Minnesota, gave up her full-time job to care for her mother. She took a more than 50 percent pay cut, spent down her 401k, and lost her health insurance. When she was injured, she couldn’t visit a doctor to see whether she needed surgery. In New York, Delores McCrae, a home care worker, was evicted from her home and lived in a women’s homeless shelter where she was...
Ask the Community
Books to Support Parenting with ACEs?
Let's create a list of resources useful for parenting ourselves and children. These can be books about child development or self-help books or a work of fiction that had important wisdom. If there's a title that's helped you or someone you know, love or work with as it relates to parenting, please share. For me, my absolute favorite is this: There's Nothing Wrong with You: Going Beyond Self-Hate , Cheri Huber This book is not about parenting. It's not about how-to parent I should say but it...
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New Peer Support Group Successes and Challenges
I started a weekly peer support group for women survivors of trauma in April 2018. It took a few weeks to get any uptake on the offer. In the beginning a few people who knew me trickled in to provide some encouragement. Some people working at the center that eventually agreed to give me access to a room to host the event, told me that if people got the sense that I was in it for the long haul, they would then start taking me up on my offer. I was determined to persist, so I stuck it out even...
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Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8 (The National Academies Press 2016)
A study published by The National Academies of Sciences in 2016 resulting in 10 Recommendations to build support for parents... "Over the past several decades, researchers have identified parenting- related knowledge, attitudes, and practices that are associated with improved developmental outcomes for children and around which parenting- related programs, policies, and messaging initiatives can be designed. However, consensus is lacking on the elements of parenting that are most important...
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Parenting With ACEs: How You Can Support Your Toddler [sfbayview.com]
By Diana Hembree, San Francisco Bay View, November 11, 2019 “My 2-year-old keeps falling down when he tries to walk.” “My son is almost 24 months old, but all he can say is ‘mama’ and dada.’” “She just turned 2, and she still can’t follow the simplest instructions.” When your toddler misses a developmental milestone, like taking her first steps by age 2, it’s natural to fret. After all, in very rare cases, such delays may be a sign of an underlying condition. But a recent study suggests that...
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Power and Partnership: A Guide to Improving Frontline Practice with Parents in the Child Welfare System (www.risemagazine.org) & the Importance of Lived Expertise
(Cissy's note: My Friday morning free-write on stuff I've been thinking about a lot of late) At least once a week, if not once a day, people ask about how to have more "authentic engagement" from parents, survivors, and community members - especially who are or have been in crisis related to ACEs. And sometimes, people share how hard it is to get or keep folks on committees who do have lived experience and care about trauma-informed change. I get these questions pretty often. But these...
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Association of Timing of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Caregiver Support With Regionally Specific Brain Development in Adolescents [jamanetwork.com]
By Joan L. Luby, Rebecca Tillman, Deanna M. Barch, JAMA Network Open, September 18, 2019 Question: Is there developmental timing and regional specificity to the associations among adverse childhood experiences, caregiver support, and structural brain development in childhood? Findings: This cohort study of 211 children and their caregivers during 4 waves of neuroimaging and behavioral assessments from preschool to adolescence found an association between the interaction of preschool adverse...
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Beyond Mom: Postpartum depression can impact a partner’s well-being, too [WashingtonPost.com]
Like any expecting couple, Brett Pipitone and his wife, Laura, knew that having a child would upend their daily routine. But no research or planning prepared them for their biggest challenge: postpartum depression. “It was an incredibly stressful situation,” Brett said. After giving birth to their daughter in 2014, Laura found herself “wanting to disappear” and completely disengaged from her surroundings. She’d call Brett at work in tears, and he’d rush home to help. He wound up taking much...
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California Plans to End 'Lunch Shaming' That Guarantees Meals for All Students [usatoday.com]
By Joshua Bote, USA Today, October 14, 2019 A bill signed Saturday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to cut the recent trend in schools of "lunch shaming." SB 265, which was originally introduced by California state Sen. Robert Hertzberg, will require that all public school students have a "state reimbursable" meal provided by the school "even if their parent or guardian has unpaid meal fees." It amends the Child Hunger Prevention and Fair Treatment Act of 2017, which previously stated...
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Can Trained, Paid Peer Support Help New York City Keep Foster Parents? [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Megan Conn, The Chronicle of Social Change, December 2, 2019 When Roxanne Williams became a foster parent four years ago, she started in the deep end of the parenting pool. New York City child welfare workers brought her a boy with limited English on a Friday afternoon and left after confirming her home was safe, leaving Williams to muddle through their first days together on her own. “It was rough – you weren’t getting the calls back [from her foster care agency] as fast as you wanted...
Comment
Re: New Peer Support Group Successes and Challenges
Oh Elizabeth - what a great idea! I am so glad you persisted. If I were a bit closer, I know I would want to participate too. Thank you for sharing your journey here on ACEs Connection ... where ideas can spark a movement! Karen
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Re: Books to Support Parenting with ACEs?
Daniel Siegel book The Whole Brain Child is a much easier read. Our Circle of Parents groups in Minnesota have used it with much success. He now has a workbookey that goes along with it.
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Re: Books to Support Parenting with ACEs?
I like Parenting from the Inside Out by Daniel Siegel and Childhood Disrupted by Donna Jackson Nakazawa . m
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Re: Books to Support Parenting with ACEs?
I think there are a lot of resources that can help parents who are parenting with ACEs. Two books offering a lot of very practical support are both older classics-- How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (Faber & Mazlish) and Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) by Thomas Gordon Both these books contain information and practical examples that can help parents become more resourced for responding constructively in moments or situations that are likely to be...
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Connecting with Families During Quarantine: Virtual Support and Telehealth
Click here to view a recording of the webinar rom the NJ Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics held this week, Connecting with Families During Quarantine: Virtual Support and Telehealth. Feel free to reach out to ahovde@njaap.org with any questions at all. Stay safe and healthy! Aldina
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Just Released: New App To Support Families During the Coronavirus Outbreak and Beyond
Families with young children are currently facing unprecedented challenges and need support now more than ever. To help parents and caregivers access much-needed resources, our friends/partners at the Early Learning Lab just released Stay Play Grow , a free app that provides a one-stop source of trusted resources curated by their team of child development experts, women, and working moms. Parents and caregivers can find tips, tools, and information across four key areas in English and...
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Federal Legislation would reduce poverty & fund caregiving
The Worker Relief and Credit Reform Act, WRCR HR5271, introduced by Reps Gwen Moore (WI) & Marcia Fudge (OH), would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to make it fully refundable and available to more people, including mothers and other unwaged primary caregivers, and get cash directly into mothers’ and families hands
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CDC Report Finds that 1 in 4 Young Adults Considered Suicide Due to Coronavirus Pandemic (people.com)
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a serious toll on the mental health struggles of Americans, particularly young adults. According to a recent survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, out of more than 5,000 respondents who were contacted in late June, 25.5 percent of adults between the ages of 18-24 reported having “seriously considered suicide” due to the pandemic. By comparison, 10.7 percent of all respondents reported having suicidal ideations. “Mental health...
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"How to talk policy and influence people": a special series of Law and Justice with Cissy White
In this extended "How to talk policy and influence people" interview with Christine "Cissy" White, a writer (see healwritenow.com), mom, trauma survivor (including child sexual abuse) and staff member of Aces Connection, we discuss the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) science and the importance of attachment and a felt sense of safety for health and human flourishing. We explore some criticisms of the ACEs framework, the benefits and risks of ACEs screening and problems with the concept...
Calendar Event
Free Virtual Parent Cafe
Calendar Event
BounceBack Parent Support Program
Calendar Event
The Ultimate Parent Support - Nonviolent Communication
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Promoting the Positive: The importance of supporting positive childhood experiences and healing in families, schools and communities (RISE)
Research links adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs , such as abuse, neglect or experiencing or witnessing violence, to health and well-being challenges in adulthood. But in her research, Dr. Christina Bethell , director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, found that many people who experienced ACEs also had positive experiences as children that made a difference in adulthood. Here, Dr. Bethell discusses...
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Child Tax Credit - help spread the news to families with children
Spread the news to families in your community: even if they've never filed taxes, even if they have little or no income, they may be eligible for the 2021 Refundable Child Tax Credit. They have until May 17, 2021 to file with the IRS to receive this credit: $3600 for each child ages 0-6; $3000 for children 6-17.
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How to Support Adult Children Struggling With Mental Health (NY Times)
Expert advice on how to gently offer help and compassion. Katie Bradeen of Colorado Springs, Colo., began to worry about her 20-year-old son, Ryan, when he came home for Christmas break of 2020. She said he had a “gray demeanor” and “he seemed to be in slow motion.” Though Mr. Bradeen was on campus for his sophomore year of college, the social distancing and virtual classes during the pandemic were challenging, especially for him as a theater major. The winter of 2021 “was even more...
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How to Support Teenagers as They Head Back to School (NY Times)
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...
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Parents Anonymous is now Raising the Future!
Please read below to learn more about this change from Raising the Future: We are so excited to unveil our new brand: Raising the Future ! Friends, colleagues, parents, and youth, For over 50 years, Parents Anonymous has strengthened families through our evidence-based programs, services, and advocacy work. Our new name, Raising the Future, represents our core belief that the future depends on parents. Supporting parents has never been more urgent, as the last two years of this pandemic have...
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Positive and Responsive Parenting
Parenting that is supportive, proactive, responsive and involved promotes resiliency and hope. Research shows parenting is critical in supporting and shaping children’s health, educational, emotional and developmental outcomes. Our asset-based, trauma- informed, and equity centered approach focuses on creating both short- and long-term positive outcomes to support overall family well-being. Parents will: Discuss parenting culture, styles, realities and challenges Understand the importance of...
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How Do We SEE and SUPPORT Children of Incarcerated Parents (CMHNetwork.org)
Launched in 2015 by the Osborne Association’s New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents (NYCIP), See Us, Support Us (SUSU) raises awareness and increases support for children of incarcerated parents. SUSU is a year-round effort with national partners, culminating in a month of action in October. This October, the campaign focused on supporting children’s educational success and wellbeing from early childhood through college. Learn how one amazing program in North Carolina (Our...
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Together for Families Conference : Save the date & call for presenters
The October 19-21, 2022 biennial Together for Families Conference is a unique virtual event that connects various stakeholders from across the U.S. and Canada in the Family Support and Strengthening Field to focus on best and promising practice for supporting families’ advancement. This conference, co-hosted by key national organizations in the field, is designed for practitioners at the program, systems, and funder levels, it will provide valuable opportunities to learn from expert...
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Last call for Presenters for virtual Together for Families Conference!
LAST CALL FOR PRESENTERS - Proposals are due by Wednesday, March 2, at 12:00pmET to present at the upcoming biennial virtual Together for Families Conference
Calendar Event
Free Virtual Parent Cafe Sponsored by The Family Tree
Calendar Event
Free Virtual Parent Cafe Sponsored by The Family Tree
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Stop Ignoring Mothering as Work (yesmagazine.org)
Every year during Women’s History Month we reflect on the many accomplishments of women and their contributions to society. Now that the month is over, it’s time to face a glaring omission so that it’s not repeated next March. This year, I was particularly concerned that the month’s overfocus on the secular and professional accomplishments of women brought an unintended consequence to undermine mothering as valuable work equally worthy of high-fives, GIFs, reposting, and tweeting. Women’s...
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Helping Kids Grieve [sesamestreetincommunities.org]
Coping with the death of a loved one brings enormous challenges for the whole family. Grieving may never completely end, but working through the difficult feelings can become easier with time. Through support, open conversations, and finding ways to keep the person’s memory alive, families can begin healing together. Sesame Street in Communities offers a library of resources to support kids in their grieving process. Please click here to access the grief resources from Sesame Street in ...
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Upcoming Opportunity: Color-Brave Communities of Learning and Practice with EmbraceRace
Would you welcome the opportunity to have a series of meaningful conversations with other caring adults, like you, who play important roles in the lives of 0-8-year-old children of color? WHAT. Join EmbraceRace for a community of learning and practice (COLP) series, "Organizing in Defense of Early Racial Learning in Our Schools and Communities." Conversations will focus on what healthy teaching and learning about race looks like in early and middle childhood and how to come together to...
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National Family Caregivers Month: Caring for the Caregivers Virtual Summit 2022 Getting UNStuck: Moving From Languishing to Flourishing
Courage to Caregivers will host its third annual Caring for Caregivers Virtual Summit on Wednesday, November 16, and Thursday, November 17, 2022, from 9 am to 12:30 pm ET as part of National Family Caregivers Month. This year’s theme is Getting UNStuck: Moving From Languishing to Flourishing. The event is free for licensed professional caregivers and anyone providing care to a loved one with mental illness. All are welcome to attend one or both days. CEUs are provided for Ohio professionals.
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Parenting Alone, and Bearing ‘the Weight of Everything’ [nytimes.com]
By Callie Holtermann, Photo by Christopher Gregory-Rivera, The New York Times, October 27, 2022 Relief agencies can help single fathers and mothers maintain the delicate balance between wage-generating hours, personal upkeep and family caregiving time. Someday, Ramiro Torres dreams of opening his own restaurant and serving the tortas, tacos and hamburgers that he loves to prepare to the public. At least one qualified critic, his 11-year-old daughter, Yanely, has long been sold on his...