Responding to Trauma Related Behaviors, Video and Discussion Questions

When young children have experienced trauma, it affects their behavior and interactions in the classroom. How can early childhood teachers and caregivers respond to trauma-related behaviors in order to best support children’s needs? In this video experts, including Dr. Bruce Perry, discuss how the organization of the brain affects children’s response to trauma and discuss regulatory and relational strategies that are most effective at supporting children demonstrating trauma-related behaviors. The experts caution against using behavioral strategies for children who have experienced trauma. Discussion questions and related videos are also available here.

Culturally Responsive Trauma Informed Practice Modules

CECO has released 5 training modules on Culturally Responsive Trauma Informed Practice in 2023. They are available in English, Spanish and Chinese. Log In or create an account to view them and many more training modules on CECO for early learning and care professionals.

Understanding Stress and Resilience in Young Children (Video Series)

You may have heard of ACES, Adverse Childhood Experiences, from the famous TED talk by Nadine Burke Harris, former Surgeon General of California. This video series summarizes what we know about ACES and applies it to support for families in Head Start programs. These powerful videos hold the stories of people who have experienced ACES and professionals who have identified and supported children and families exposed to ACES. The video series is a must see for those who work with vulnerable populations.

Operation Breaking Through houses the largest Head Start program in Missouri. It models a multi-disciplinary approach and includes a partnership with a local children’s hospital. It was designed to raise awareness and educate. It provides the perspectives of parents, Head Start staff, health care professionals, and others on the issues of adverse childhood events (ACEs), toxic stress, and resilience.

Watch the videos in this series to learn how high levels of stress can impact a child’s lifelong health and well-being. Find out how Head Start programs and health care professionals can support children and families to help prevent early childhood stress.

Use these videos to generate interest and support for activities in Head Start and Early Head Start programs and in partner organizations that help identify and care for families affected by ACEs and toxic stress. The User Guide includes a breakdown of the video segments by topic area.

Explore related resources on ECLKC to learn more.

The Ultimate Guide to Talking About Tough Topics with Young Children

In this article, you will find important information about how to talk to children about common tough topics, including shootings, death, racism, mental health, illness, divorce, and more. Also find a step-by-step guide with a free PDF printable handout for talking to kids about tough topics, in general, tips on trauma-informed care, and book lists to help guide children to exploring tough topics in an age-appropriate way.

‘We Cannot Afford to Ignore Disabled Voices:’ Changing the Way We Talk About Covid

Disability rights activist Emily Ladau, author of Demystifying Disability, an NPR and Booklist editors’ pick for 2021, argues that ableist language holds us back from not only having more productive conversations about Covid, but developing more effective policies to confront the pandemic.

Read on for her curated list of some of the most crucial journalism on how tangibly these oversights affect people whose lives have already been disproportionately upended by Covid, as well as tips for improving your understanding of ableism and the huge and diverse disability community.

Trauma Lingers for Those Who Have Experienced Seclusion and Restraint

Seclusion and restraint can hurt children, said Ross Greene, a clinical child psychologist who taught at Harvard Medical School for more than 20 years and wrote four books on behavioral challenges in kids.

The practices are especially harmful because they happen at the hands of adults whom children have been taught to trust. Some students will lose trust in authority figures altogether, Greene said, or lose their desire to attend school. Others experience residual anguish long after the ordeal ends.

“The kids I’ve worked with who were most affected by it are still affected by it, even though no one’s laid hands on them three or four years later,” said Greene, who now runs a nonprofit called Lives in the Balance and travels to schools, psychiatry units and detention facilities around the world to promote alternative disciplinary approaches. “A lot of people would say that meets the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.”

The California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project

“A series of free, evidence-based video and print resources that caregivers and educators can use to teach their kids critical mental health and coping skills. The project was born of an innovative partnership between the state of California and the Child Mind Institute.”

“Why was this project developed? Fully 20% of our kids have a mental health or learning disorder. Covid has put every child in the State of California and the nation under unprecedented stress: Personal trauma, economic and learning loss, and continuing uncertainty. They’ve never needed foundational mental health skills more than they do right now.”

Videos are produced in English and Spanish for students, parents and educators. They teach clinically proven foundational mental health skills with different videos for elementary, middle and high school students. The elementary-age videos feature hedgehog characters in imaginative stories to teach key skills in a way that kids will enjoy watching and remember longer. Each video comes with Skill Sheets that summarize and reinforce key ideas.

Kids help to narrate and create the story, while mental health experts guide the problem-solving and discussion. The videos are well-produced and very engaging.

You might start by watching the Introduction for Parents. This 14 minute video explains the need for this important project and touches on stories from real families that will ring true in some way for all of us during the pandemic.

U.S. Department of Education Releases New Resource on Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health during COVID-19 Era

U.S. Department of Education released a new resource: Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health (PDF) to provide information and resources to enhance the promotion of mental health and the social and emotional well-being among children and students. This resource highlights seven key challenges to providing school- or program-based mental health support across early childhood, K–12 schools, and higher education settings, and presents seven corresponding recommendations. This resource includes many real-world examples (PDF) of how the recommendations are being put into action by schools, communities, and states across the country.

Zero to Three: Trauma and Stress

Strong, caring and loving relationships can shield children from the impact of negative experiences, and they can be mutually healing.

Children are deeply impacted by the events that take place around them. Even though they may not understand what they see and hear, they absorb and are affected by the people they rely on for love and security. Constant, unrelenting negative experiences – known as “toxic stress” – take a toll on a child’s growth and development. Parents and caregivers play a very important role in helping infants and toddlers heal from traumatic experiences.

This set of resources provide recommendations and strategies to help caregivers support young children during times of trauma. Included in this set of resources are, Mindfulness Practices for Families, Helping Your Toddler Cope with Grief and Death, and Supporting Young Children Experiencing Separation and Trauma.

When Someone Your Child Loves Dies: A Guide from the Fred Rogers Center (PDF)

This guidance from Fred Rogers provides tips on how to talk to your child about death, alerts you to common reactions that you may see while your child grieves and gives strategies for how to support your child.

Also helpful is When Difficult Things Happen, A guide from the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media (PDF) for supporting children through hard moments in life.

Another article specifically addresses the loss or death of a teacher, When Children Lose a Teacher, Karen Nemeth, January 2022.

Responding to Trauma Related Behaviors, Video and Discussion Questions