I previously published a blog on trauma
in children on Psychology Today.
Common forms of trauma include physical
and sexual abuse, witnessing domestic and community violence, being separated
from family members, and neglect. According
to the US Dept of Health and Human services (2013), child neglect is the most
common trauma experienced by children.
Furthermore, children in the age group of birth to 1 year
had the highest rate of victimization at 21.2 per 1,000 children ( DHHS, 2013)
In regards to ethnicity, the most confirmed cases by CPS are among Whites
(43.9%) followed by African-Americans (21.5 percent) and Hispanic Americans
(22.1 percent).
Signs of
Trauma in Young Children
Children’s
reactions to trauma vary at different ages. Some of the common reactions of
children are listed on the next page. If any of the behaviors or symptoms don’t
improve or go away over time, it is important to seek professional help.
Possible reactions to trauma may include:
- Fear of being separated from parent
- More clinging and dependent behaviors
- More aggressive behaviors
- More withdrawn behaviors showing little emotion
- Aimless motion, disorganized behaviors, and or/freezing
- Unable to comfort self
- Difficulty falling asleep, night waking
- May reenact scene in play
- Problems with toileting (bedwetting, soiling)
- Thumb sucking
- Loss of language skills and acquired language
- Memory problems
Tips for Helping Children Cope with Trauma
- Avoid blaming the child or displaying your anger: It is important to remain calm and use a calm voice with talking with children about their traumatic experience.
- Reassure the child that they will be safe: Many children fear for safety after experiencing trauma. It is important to let the child know that you will be present to support them. This may involve letting the child be aware of your whereabouts at all times.
- Don’t minimize the child’s feelings: Avoid telling the child to “Stop being a baby, don’t cry”. Normalize the child’s emotions at let them know that it’s okay to be sad.
- Follow the child’s lead: It’s okay to not encourage the child to talk about the trauma. However, it the child decided to open up to you be there to listen and support them.
- Help the child identify their feelings: It is important for children to talk about their hurt or sadness. It may be necessary to seek professional help from a psychologist or licensed mental health professional trained to deal with trauma.
Copyright 2013 Erlanger A. Turner, Ph.D.
References:
Child
Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Child Maltreatment 2011: Summary of key
findings. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Children’s Bureau.
National
Child Traumatic Stress Network (2010). Early Childhood Trauma Retrieved September
2013 from http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/nctsn_earlychildhoodtrauma_08-2010final.pdf
Osofsky, J. Helping young
children and families cope with trauma. Retrieved September 2013 from http://www.nctsnet.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/Helping_Young_Children_and_Families_Cope_with_Trauma.pdf
Great tips that ought to be included in most human services software. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete-Jon
Nicely put. We tend to take children’s feelings for granted when, in fact, it is them who are more prone to emotional trauma. They are susceptible to being scared of even what we deem to be simple or harmless things, like the closet, a dark hallway and thunder. They can’t understand the relationship between cause and effect, so they tend to interpret things differently than adults. It is our job as adults to reassure the child and that they can always count on us for protection and support.
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