By Elke Shaw-Tulloch, Dec 1, 2017, Idaho Statesman
Research has shown that early childhood experiences can greatly impact our lives, both negatively and positively. The Division of Public Health’s Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program is working with Idaho families to increase the positive experiences they give their children as they learn how to provide for their children’s needs as well as their own.
Adverse Childhood Experiences, also known as ACEs, are stressful or traumatic events that have been linked with negative, long-term effects on health and well-being. ACEs research has shown how toxic stress during early childhood impacts brain development and has lifelong effects on health. The most common ACEs often include abuse and neglect, domestic violence, sexual violence, substance use, parental mental illness, incarceration of a family member, and divorce.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the more ACEs a child has early in life, the higher his or her risk is for varied health, social and mental health problems as an adult. ACEs have been linked to risky health behaviors, violence, substance use and mental illness, chronic health conditions and even early death. Exposure to trauma in childhood can also affect how that child grows up and then raises their own children. ACEs are common and are not limited by socio-economic status — nearly 40 percent of adults have had two or more.
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