“Are little kids really being put in jail?” That was the question my daughters asked me when I picked them up from summer camp last week. For a minute, I was stunned into silence. I took a deep breath, overwhelmed by sadness that we live in a world where kids — younger than my own girls — are indeed living this reality.

My daughters had talked with friends about what they are hearing on the news. They didn’t understand why anyone would take children away from their mom or dad. They didn’t understand why they were being sent to warehouses all alone. I struggled to find words to explain what is happening, let alone why it is happening. So, I told them a story.

Paloma was only 4 years old when she came to the United States from Central America with her mother. Paloma’s mom made the decision to come to the United States to flee the domestic violence she was experiencing on a daily basis, as well as the horrific gang violence that plagued their local community.

[For more of this story, written by Alana Walczak, go to https://www.noozhawk.com/artic...hood_trauma_20180615]