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Understanding Childhood Trauma

A childhood traumatic experience is one in which a young person's emotional well being is overwhelmed by an event or situation that affects their sense of safety. Each individual child will react to a traumatic experience uniquely; however, symptoms associated with trauma can be evident immediately, or develop as time progresses. Traumatic events may impact on how a child thinks about things, how they perceive themselves emotionally, and how they act toward other people. Many children who have experienced trauma can develop effective coping mechanisms for dealing with their emotions if supported early on by caring adults.

 

Common Causes of Childhood Trauma

Children experience trauma for many different reasons; 


• Physical abuse

• Sexual abuse

• Emotional abuse

• Neglect

• Domestic violence

• Serious illness or injury

• Loss of a loved one

• Community violence

• Natural disasters

• Other frightening and stressful experiences.


Every child's experience is unique so no two healing journeys are alike.

Recognizing the Signs of Trauma

Children who experience traumatic events have different ways to show that they are hurt compared to adults.Rather than expressing how they feel emotionally, children will typically express their feelings physically or by showing significant behavioral changes. Some examples of this expression is as follows:


Emotional Changes

  • Excessive fear or anxiety

  • More frequent episodes of sadness

  • Mood swings

  • Irritability

  • Guilty or ashamed


Behavioral Changes

  • Withdrawn from family and friends

  • Distracted during learning activities.

  • Anger issues

  • Decrease in academic achievement

  • Aversion to locations or situations that remind them of what happened.


Physical Symptoms

  • Trouble sleeping

  • Nightmares

  • Headaches

  • Stomachaches

  • Changes in appetite


Recognizing these signs early can help families seek appropriate support and create a safe environment for healing.

 

How Families Can Support a Child After Trauma

Ways parents and caregivers may be able to help a child who has been exposed to traumatic experiences include:


Listen With Compassion

Children should be allowed to express their feelings about what happened to them as freely as possible (without being judged) as soon as possible after the event.


Maintain Daily Routines

The establishment of regular routines for sleeping, eating and other aspects of daily life helps to give a child a feeling of consistency and safety that he/she did not have during the traumatic events.


Encourage Healthy Expression

Drawing pictures, creating stories, writing, drawing pictures, acting out through drama or play, etc., are all healthy ways that a child may use to understand and deal with his/her feelings about traumatic events.


Offer Reassurance

Let your child know you are there to protect him/her from future harm. Let your child know that he/she is safe; let your child know that he/she is loved; and encourage your child to continue in therapy until he/she is healed.


Seek Professional Guidance

If you believe that your child's exposure to a traumatic event has had such a significant impact on his/her ability to live a normal day to day life, then it would be wise to seek professional guidance from a licensed mental health professional.This will allow your child to receive evidence based treatment.

Why Early Support Matters

Children are very capable of resilience, however they frequently require the assistance of supportive adults along with a variety of resources to process through their painful and traumatic experiences.


Support for young people early on may assist them:

  • Create healthy ways to cope.

  • Help improve their ability to regulate emotions.

  • Increase their self confidence.

  • Help develop healthy relationships.

  • Reduce their stress and anxiety.

  • Provide safety and security once again.


In addition to providing children with the tools needed to heal at home or within their community, early intervention provides family members with tools as well.

 

Creating Safe and Supportive Environments

Healing often starts with simple daily practices that create consistency, patience and understanding for a child.


Children benefit from environments in which they:


  • Feel safe both physically and emotionally.
  • Have trusted adults who can talk to them.
  • Know their feelings are respected.
  • Maintain healthy routines.
  • Receive positive encouragement and support.
  • Have opportunities to learn and grow.


Small daily interactions can have a lasting impact on a child’s emotional recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Childhood trauma occurs when a child experiences an event in their life so overwhelming they are unable to be able to manage it; and this event will impact on their physical, emotional, behavioral, and social well-being.

Children can react to trauma differently than other children. Many become quiet and withdraw into themselves, while others exhibit fearfulness, anxiety, anger, or behavior changes. In addition, some children experience difficulty focusing.

Yes. Children can develop resiliency by having positive interactions (relationships) with people who provide them with a consistent environment; and as long as these children have the right kind of help, most children are capable of recovery from their traumatic events.

Families should seek help from a trained mental health professional if the signs of trauma continue, interfere with the normal functioning of day-to-day activities, or negatively affect a child's mental health.

Communities provide families and children with organizations (schools), healthcare systems, family support services, etc., which all work together to allow children and families to obtain education, assistance, and other forms of support to aid in recovering from their traumatic events.

Helping Children Move Forward With Hope

While trauma may be an important part of a child's life experience, it does not have to dictate the direction they take with the rest of their lives. By working together as a community through education, caring support systems, and shared partnership opportunities; children are empowered to build strength (resilience) and confidence and grow into happy, healthy, safe people in nurturing environments.


We believe our resources will educate and inform seattle families so that they too can contribute positively to the overall well-being of the children living within their communities.