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Coping with Trauma: A Collection of Resources

The explosions in Boston in April 2013 and the tragedy that took the lives of very young children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012 elicited strong feelings and emotions from the entire nation and perhaps especially from those who work with and care for children. At times like these we need to be aware of what children experience as well as what they see and hear on the news. The resources in the Coping with Trauma section of MAP will help you address the needs of children in times of violence and trauma. Some of the resources are specific to children with special needs and others are more general. Some of the resources are available in other languages as indicated.

In the News!

In the News!

Coping with Trauma Resources

‘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.

123 Trauma Sensitive Tool Kit for Caregivers
The 1-2-3 Care Toolkit is intended to support caregivers on their journey towards trauma sensitivity. It is organized by topic, each offering a brief overview, specific tools that can be used with children, and where to find more information. Also included are handouts that can be used as teaching aids. Public health nurses at Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) developed this toolkit for caregivers of children. Caregivers are defined broadly to include parents, grandparents, child care providers, teachers, and others who care for children daily. Recent advances in the understanding of how early childhood experiences shape the way the brain works over the lifetime reveal just how critically important the job of caring for children is. It turns out that the brain grows and develops differently in response to nurturing versus traumatic environments.
2021 Children’s Mental Health Report – The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children’s Mental Health: What We Know So Far
Child Mind Institute | October 2021

Even before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, mental health professionals were struggling to meet the needs of the 1 in 5 children and adolescents with a mental health or learning disorder. Then the pandemic hit, bringing an upsurge in youth reporting mental health challenges.

In this report, we examine the growing body of research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s mental health, including the results of a survey of thousands of parents conducted by the Child Mind Institute.

A Call for More Effective Prevention of Violence
In Response to the Shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School: Position Statement of the Interdisciplinary Group on Preventing School and Community Violence: Endorsed by 183 organizations and more than 200 prevention scholars and practitioners (From the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia). Provides a thoughtful discussion of policy and provides recommendations for action.
ACES and Developmental Disabilities
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at greater risk of abuse and neglect than is the general population. This should be an alarm call alerting all committed disability advocates to learn about ACEs and take steps to make the IDD services field more ACE- and trauma-informed. A number of disability advocates from various disciplines have already taken major steps to prevent the maltreatment of children with IDD and implement trauma-informed programs for people with IDD. However, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.
ACES Too High
ACES Too High is a news site that reports on research about adverse childhood experiences, including developments in epidemiology, neurobiology, and the biomedical and epigenetic consequences of toxic stress. We also cover how people, organizations, agencies and communities are implementing practices based on the research. This includes developments in education, juvenile justice, criminal justice, public health, medicine, mental health, social services, and cities, counties and states.
  • Additional ACES Too High Resources
    • The Secret to Fixing School Discipline? Change the Behavior of Teachers Two kindergarteners at Cherokee Point Elementary School in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood get into a fight on the playground. Their teacher sends them to the principal’s office. Instead of suspending or expelling the six-year-olds, as happens in many schools, Principal Godwin Higa ushers them to his side of the desk. He sits down so that he can talk with them eye-to-eye and quietly asks: “What happened?” He points to one of the boys. “You go first.”
    • Five Minute Video Primer about the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (Video) Published: April 2016 | 5 minutes Many people have been asking for a short video that explains the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, the groundbreaking epidemiological research that revealed the link between childhood trauma and the adult onset of chronic disease, mental illness, violence and being a victim of violence.
    • England and Wales produce new animation about ACEs & resilience (Video) Published: May 2017 | 5:43 minutes Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are those that directly harm a child; such as physical, verbal and sexual abuse or physical or emotional neglect – as well as those that affect the environment where they grow up; including parental separation, domestic violence, mental illness, alcohol abuse, drug use or incarceration.
Calmer Classrooms: A Guide to Working with Traumatised Children (PDF)
Understanding the experience of the abused and neglected child assists us to develop compassion, patience and empathy. This Australian publication informs and encourages teachers and other school personnel to forge attachments through two key mechanisms: understanding traumatized children and developing relationship-based skills to help them
Care Cope Connect: First 5 Alameda County and Sesame Street
Care Cope Connect: First 5 Alameda County and Sesame Street partnered with Sesame Street to create the Care Cope Connect - Comforting and Supporting Kids During Community Stress. The booklet has tips for how to make young children feel safe, self-care tips for caregivers and activity pages for kids. Alameda County First 5 CEO, Janis Burger, also talks about the potential impact of the recent violence in Charlottesville on young children and provides other resources for early childhood community in supporting parents, families and neighborhoods to create environments where children thrive.
Center for Inclusive Child Care: Tip Sheets on Trauma
The CICC provides free relationship-based professional development (RBPD) including support, training, modeling, and resources to child care programs throughout Minnesota.
Center for the Developing Child, Harvard University: Coping with Trauma
Child Care Aware: Crisis and Disaster Resources
Child Care Aware® of America is proud to work with the Partnership for Disaster Preparedness, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Save the Children to protect children before, during and after an emergency -- including traumatic events or natural disasters. Resources are available specific to families, caregivers, school professionals and resource and referral agencies.
Child Mind Institute: Trauma Resources
The Child Mind Institute has prepared free trauma resources to aid parents, educators, and other adults in talking to children and adolescents about potentially traumatic events and identifying those who might benefit from more focused professional attention. Our children can be more sensitive to challenges around them because of their life experience and they need our support. Resources are available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, German, Hebrew, Italian, Chinese, Russian, and Bengali.
Culturally Responsive Trauma Informed Practice Modules
California Early Childhood Online (CECO) | Published: 2023

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.

Early Intervention Training Program: Childhood Trauma: Understanding, Preventing , Supporting
This course was created by the Military Families Learning Network's Early Intervention Team to explore childhood trauma, disability, and trauma-informed practices in early childhood settings. This self-paced, interactive module includes four units which cover the prevalence and impact of trauma, manifestation of trauma in young children, providing trauma-informed supports, and preventing future trauma. It is designed to be a high-level overview of the topic and a starting point for professionals working with young children and their families.
Edutopia: Responding to Tragedy: Resources for Educators and Parents
When tragic events happen, it can be difficult for educators, administrators, and parents to know how to help children understand and cope. How adults manage their own reactions, as well as how they help students deal with their questions and feelings, are important factors in providing children with the support and guidance they will need. Below are some useful, informative, and thoughtful resources for adults to help children through traumatic situations. Some of these resources are relevant to parents as well as educators.
Edutopia: Unspeakable Tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School
Provides links to various media including videos from NBC news, Common Sense Media and articles in the New York Times Learning Network about how to talk to your kids about news how to help kids cope with trauma.
Emergency Preparedness Tip Sheets: Helping Children Cope with Crises and Tragic Events
Source: Office of Head Start - March 2, 2015 The Office of Head Start's National Center on Health (NCH) has released two new tip sheets that focus on children's responses to crises and tragic events, as well as ways to help children cope. They are available in both Spanish and English.
  • Children's Responses to Crises and Tragic Events (PDF) - Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and young children who experience a tragic event may show changes in their behaviors. They also may be indirectly affected by a crisis through what they hear or see on the TV. This tip sheet provides information on what families and staff might see and how children may respond. It also includes additional resources.
  • Helping Your Child Cope After a Disaster (PDF) - After a disaster or crisis, children benefit when adults assure them that they are safe and help them learn how to cope effectively. This tip sheet provides families and staff with things they can do to help a child feel safe after a disaster or crisis.
Family Snapshot Survey During Pandemic Looks at Stressors Placed on Families with Children with Special Health Care Needs
American Academy of Pediatrics | August 31, 2021

Despite the stress of the pandemic, most parents in households with at least one child with special health care needs felt close to their children during this time and did a variety of activities with them, according to a family snapshot survey. But families in these households also experienced several challenges, including high rates of disruption in day care, health care, and employment, and a loss of technological and therapeutic supports.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA), and Tufts Medical Center, is surveying a total of 9,000 parents over a period of seven months to measure the impact of the pandemic on family life, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and positive childhood experiences. The latest Family Snapshot report seeks to understand the significant impact on families raising children and youth with special health care needs.

Fighting the “Hidden Pandemic”: Five ways school leaders can create grief-responsive teaching environments
Useable Knowledge | February 11, 2022

“In October 2021, the Centers for Disease Control named a "hidden pandemic" — that of COVID orphans, or young people who have lost one or both primary caretakers to the new coronavirus. In the United States alone, more than 140,000 children had lost a parent or guardian at the time of the study, and that number has continued to ascend in the wake of the Omicron variant.

Grief is a natural response to many types of losses, even those that do not relate to the death of a person — for example, divorce, a change in housing or socioeconomic status, or a loved one’s illness. And it transcends emotion, impacting our brain, body, and behavior, no matter our age. For that reason, it is critical to understand how best to support grieving students’ needs in the classroom, and in turn, for school leaders to apply their own knowledge of grief-responsive practices to leadership, not only supporting teachers’ wellbeing as they work with grieving students but recognizing that many teachers are grappling with grief themselves — at and beyond the workplace.”

This article describes five strategies help to create wraparound systems of support for teachers, creating a reciprocal sense of wellbeing between students, teachers, and school leaders that centers social-emotional wellness in times of loss.

Friendship Circle
Guiding Child Care Providers in Supporting the Social-Emotional Needs of Young Children during the Pandemic and Other Traumatic Events (Webinar)
NCPMI and Child Care Aware | September 29, 2021

Learn about how early childhood education and care programs are being guided to use Pyramid Model practices in addressing the needs of young children during the Pandemic and other Traumatic Events. Our panel will discuss the impact of trauma on young children’s social-emotional health and how Child Care Resource & Referral leaders are making a difference in the support of programs. Includes the Trauma-Informed Care Guide (PDF) and Trauma-Informed Checklist (PDF).

Head Start Trauma Start Crittendon Children’s Center
Head Start Trauma Start Crittendon Children's Center has implemented an early childhood trauma intervention model that addresses the effects of complex trauma—such as community and family violence, poverty, illness, and homelessness— for young preschool-age children, their families, and the Head Start teachers who care for them.
Helping Children Birth Through 5 Rebound from Traumatic Experiences: Create Classrooms That Support Recovery – Recorded Webinar with Downloadable Resources
Recorded: October 25, 2016 Join this powerful session by Cate Heroman and Jenna Bilmes, authors of Helping Children Rebound, to build your understanding of how children might behave after experiencing a disturbing event and why. The presenters will share examples of how traumatic events such as natural disasters, terrorist incidents, witnessing violence, and even seeing reports of death and destruction in the news can impact children’s behavior. The session will also include specific strategies to help teachers meet the emotional needs of children who have been affected by traumatic experiences. You will also receive links to two  FREE downloadable guides to help preschool and infant/toddler teachers identify specific behaviors that may indicate emotional distress and implement strategies to address them.
How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime by Nadine Burke Harris
Childhood trauma isn't something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who've experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.
Multilingual Trauma Resources to Help Children and Youth Process Violence
Child Mind Institute | October 2023

The Child Mind Institute, childmind.org, has developed resources to support those who are helping children and adolescents process violence. This includes parents struggling to explain what happened to their kids, adults caring for children directly affected, and teachers who may wish to address the shootings in class.

Anyone can freely access these expert-informed materials including our multilingual trauma resources (available here in 16 languages) and the trauma and grief section of our Family Resource Center. Here is some specific information you may find useful:

National Child Trauma Stress Network: Resources for Educators
Provides a comprehensive website on trauma with information and resources for parents, care givers and educators in English and Spanish.
  • Guiding Caregivers: How to Talk to a Child About Deportation or Separation Published: Mar 2019 Offers guidance on how to talk with children about deportation or separation. This fact sheets guides family members, caregivers, as well as providers, on how to speak to children about these issues including, if it is appropriate to talk to children at all about such things and how to use analogies to explain the idea of deportation and separation.
  • The Road to Recovery: Supporting Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Who Have Experienced Trauma
    The Road to Recovery is a training that provides an overview for providers on how to work with children and families who are living with intellectual and development disabilities who have experienced trauma. This Toolkit consists of a Facilitator Guide and a Participant Manual. Together, they are designed to teach basic knowledge, skills, and values about working with children with IDD who have had traumatic experiences, and how to use this knowledge to support children’s safety, well-being, happiness, and recovery through trauma-informed practice.
  • Psychological First Aid Online
    PFA online includes a 6-hour interactive course that puts the participant in the role of a provider in a post-disaster scene. This professionally-narrated course is for individuals new to disaster response who want to learn the core goals of PFA, as well as for seasoned practitioners who want a review.
PBS Parents: Talking with Kids About News – Violence Through Your Child’s Eyes
Children often interpret war and violence in the news very differently from adults. When young children see or hear about violent events, they may first worry about their own safety. Because they are not able to fully understand things like cause and effect, or even distance, it's hard for them to make distinctions between an immediate threat and one that is far away. Even middle-schoolers will not be able to fully comprehend an event the ways adults do. The following pointers may help you understand the way they view events in the news and provide ideas on how you can help.
Piplo Productions

The mission of Piplo Productions is to help children and families recover after stressful or traumatic events by using story, clinical psychology and cute characters.

Free Stories and Resources to Help Children Cope with Their Emotions
  • Once I Was Very Very Scared Published: 2017 This story is about a little squirrel who announces that he was once very, very, scared and finds out that he is not alone. Lots of little animals went through scary experiences, but they react in different ways. Turtle hides and gets a tummy ache, monkey clings, dog barks, and elephant doesn’t like to talk about it. They need help, and they get help from grown-ups who help them feel safe and learn ways to cope with difficult feelings.

    Written by Chandra Ghosh Ippen, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Child Trauma Research Program at UCSF, to help children and grown-ups (parents, teachers, and other important adults) understand how stress can affect children and ways to help them. It was released in 2017, is available for free download along with activities using the characters in the story. Other stories, The Trinka and Sam series, were developed to help children and their families after natural disasters. Stories are available in English, Spanish, and Turkish.
Stories for purchase:
  • You Weren’t With Me Published: Feb 2019 Little Rabbit and Big Rabbit are together after a difficult separation, but even though they missed each other, Little Rabbit is not ready to cuddle up and receive Big Rabbit's love. Little Rabbit needs Big Rabbit to understand what it felt like when they were apart. "Sometimes I am very mad. I don't understand why you weren't with me," says Little Rabbit, "I worry you will go away again." Big Rabbit listens carefully and helps Little Rabbit to feel understood and loved. This story was designed to help parents and children talk about difficult separations, reconnect, and find their way back to each other.
Redirecting Grief to Growth: A Trusted Space, Video and Curriculum to Address Grief, Trauma and Anxiety During COVID-19 (Video)
PBS | Length: 43 minutes

As the nation navigates the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this film and curriculum offers tools to mitigate the effects of grief, trauma, anxiety, and other emotional stressors affecting both students and teachers. The 43-minute film features teachers, parents, students, and renowned experts including Linda Darling-Hammond and Pedro Noguera, among others. The accompanying research-based SEL curriculum provides a practical, empathetic, and scientific understanding of how trauma impacts behavior and learning, and how to manage it within any classroom setting. The curriculum shares specifically how to develop 5 core social emotional 'muscles' to help teachers improve their mental health while also creating trust with youth, to mitigate the effects of stress and open young minds to learning.

Resource Guide to Trauma-Informed Human Services
Published: January 2017 The guide is intended to provide an introduction to the topic of trauma, a discussion of why understanding and addressing trauma is important for human services programs, and a “road map” to find relevant resources. It includes Concept Papers, Guiding Questions and Answers on key topics and Trauma Resources for Specific Human Services Programs or Populations. Samples of these are below:
Safe Spaces: Foundations of Trauma-Informed Practice for Educational & Care Settings (Video)
August 2023

Safe spaces, developed by the Office of the California Surgeon General,  is a free, online training designed to help early care providers, TK-12 educators and other school personnel recognize and respond to trauma and stress in children. Each module is about two hours and is filled with case examples, videos, strategies and practices. Select the module(s) that best fit your professional needs:

Learn more and take the training https://osg.ca.gov/safespaces/

SAMHSA: Coping with Violence and Traumatic Events: Tips for Talking with Children
Provides parent tips for talking with children of different ages in downloadable PDFs in English, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish.
  • Tips for Talking With and Helping Children and Youth Cope After a Disaster or Traumatic Event A Guide for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers (PDF) Children and youth can face emotional strains after a traumatic event such as a car crash or violence. Disasters also may leave them with long-lasting harmful effects. When children experience a trauma, watch it on TV, or overhear others discussing it, they can feel scared, confused, or anxious. Young people react to trauma differently than adults. Some may react right away; others may show signs that they are having a difficult time much later. As such, adults do not always know when a child needs help coping. This tip sheet will help parents, caregivers, and teachers learn some common reactions, respond in a helpful way, and know when to seek support.
SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach (PDF)
July 2014

The key questions addressed in this paper are:

  • What do we mean by trauma?
  • What do we mean by a trauma-informed approach?
  • What are the key principles of a trauma-informed approach?
  • What is the suggested guidance for implementing a trauma-informed approach?
  • How do we understand trauma in the context of community?
San Francisco’s El Dorado Elementary Uses Trauma-Informed & Restorative Practices
"We're trying to change the school culture," by teaching educators about the underlying neurobiology of trauma, El Dorado's principle explains. "When we see aggravating behavior in a kid and ask the question, 'What has happened to you?' instead of 'What's wrong with you?', that's the fundamental reframe. This reframe helps give the behavior a context, engenders compassion, and helps us respond more effectively."
Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress: A Series of Reports from the Office of Planning Research and Evaluation and the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) was founded in 1966 by a small group of scientists who had a vision—to conduct research that would make a difference in children's lives, support families, and inform public policy.
  • Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress: Foundations for Understanding Self-Regulation From an Applied Developmental Perspective
    This is the first in a series of four inter-related reports titled Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress. The first report, Foundations for Understanding Self-Regulation from an Applied Developmental Perspective, provides a comprehensive framework for understanding self-regulation in context, using a theoretical model that reflects the influence of biology, caregiving, and the environment on the development of self-regulation.
  • A Review of Ecological, Biological, and Developmental Studies of Self-Regulation and Stress The second reportprovides a cross-disciplinary review of research on the relationship between stress and self-regulation.
  • A Comprehensive Review of Self-Regulation Interventions From Birth Through Young Adulthood February 2016 The third report describes results of a comprehensive review of self-regulation interventions from birth through young adulthood and summarizes the level of evidence for different interventions across age groups and outcome domains. In this report, we provide details on the methodological approach and data findings, including figures with detailed descriptions for the reader who is interested in the evidence base supporting our conclusions. These conclusions are repeated in our fourth report, Implications for Programs and Practice, with a more applied summary of the results organized by their implications for different types of programs. This third report therefore provides a more technical reference for the fourth report.
  • Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Report 4: Implications for Programs and Practice December 2, 2016 The fourth and final report is targeted specifically towards program administrators and practitioners. This report reviews the key concepts for understanding self-regulation, including the relationship between stress and self-regulation. Additionally, it summarizes principal findings from a comprehensive review of self-regulation interventions. Finally and most importantly, it addresses how current theory and knowledge of self-regulation may apply to programs and practitioners serving children and youth in different developmental groups from birth through young adulthood. A discussion of the report is found on the FPG website
Self-Regulation Snapshots
April 2018 FPG's Desiree Murray and Duke Center for Child and Family Policy's Katie Rosanbalm co-authored these free snapshots for practitioners and educators to use for each of six developmental phases. Each snapshot provides a review of key concepts; a listing of the skills developing in that phase; an image of how co-regulation looks in that phase; a review of lessons learned about interventions to promote self-regulation; key considerations for promoting self-regulation in that phase, and more.
Services for Families of Infants and Toddlers Experiencing Trauma: A Research to Practice Brief
Research documents the high rate of exposure to trauma among infants and toddlers, particularly children living in high-poverty communities. Beginning life in the context of trauma places infants and toddlers on a compromised developmental path. This brief summarizes what is known about the impact of trauma on infants and toddlers, and the intervention strategies that could potentially protect them from the adverse consequences of traumatic experiences.
Sesame Street in Communities: Traumatic Experiences (Videos)
When a child endures a traumatic experience, the whole family feels the impact. But adults hold the power to help lessen its effects. Several factors can change the course of kids’ lives: feeling seen and heard by a caring adult, being patiently taught coping strategies and resilience-building techniques, and being with adults who know about the effects of such experiences. This website offers a variety of ways to bring these factors to life. It is available in both Spanish and English with a choice of information for parents and care givers or providers, holds videos, stories, printable activities, tip sheets geared toward different age groups (birth to 1, 2 to 3, and 4 to 6).
Sesame Street: Offering Comfort in Scary Times
Sesame Street Workshop | October 2023Watch the video together and let kids know it’s good to ask questions about the [scary or confusing] things happening around them. Here are more ways you can offer your child comfort:
  • Give your child a comfort item like a stuffed animal or blanket.
  • Hold hands and snuggle often.
  • Choose one routine you can all count on to continue even when your situation or location has changed, such as the same lullaby every night, or observing the shape of the moon before bed.
  • Look for the “helpers.” Focus on all the people around you working to make things better.
  • “Belly breathe!” Put your hands on your bellies and take three deep breaths in and out, feeling your bellies rise and fall. Put a stuffed animal on your child’s belly and have him “rock it to sleep” as he breathes.
  • Try to prevent children from seeing disturbing images on television or online.
Social Policy Report on Children and Terrorism
This paper explores the impact of growing up in a world with terrorism on children and youth. It considers both the direct traumatic effects of being a victim and the indirect effects of living in communities and societies in which the threat of terrorism is on the minds of children, but perhaps more importantly, of adults generally, and parents and policy makers in particular.
Sound the Alarm for Kids: The American Kids Mental Health Crisis is A National Emergency
October 2021

“We are facing a significant national mental health crisis in our children and teens which requires urgent action. In the first six months of this year, children’s hospitals across the country reported a shocking 45 percent increase in the number of self-injury and suicide cases in 5- to 17-year-olds compared to the same period in 2019. Together with the AAP and the AACAP we are sounding the alarm on this mental health emergency.” Children’s Hospital Association

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a serious toll on children's mental health as young people continue to face physical isolation, ongoing uncertainty, fear and grief. Even before the pandemic, mental health challenges facing children were of great concern, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated them.

Additionally, many young people have been impacted by loss of a loved one. Recent data (PDF) show that more than 140,000 U.S. children have experienced the death of a primary or secondary caregiver during the COVID-19 pandemic, with children of color disproportionately impacted.”

Read more about this national emergency in this press release, Pediatricians, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and Children's Hospitals Declare National Emergency in Children's Mental Health, October 19, 2021. Take action at the Sound the Alarm website.

Stress and Short Tempers: Schools Struggle with Behavior as Students Return
Mind/Shift | September 28, 2021

The behavior issues are a reflection of the stress the pandemic placed on children, experts say, upending their education, schedules, and social lives. For students dealing with grief, mental health issues, or the layered effects of poverty and racism, big transitions can be even more challenging.

Complicating how schools are responding to disruptive behavior is the fact that many educators are on edge, too. Staff shortages and quarantines have stretched teachers thin, leaving many with less of the patience needed to de-escalate student conflicts. Some say they’re already as tired as they’d typically be by Thanksgiving.

This article gives many examples of the types of behavior that educators are dealing with as well as the challenges faced by teachers who are dealing with their own issues around the pandemic. It also describes the solutions that both students and teachers are implementing to help address the mental health of students and teachers alike.

Supporting Children Affected by Trauma (Video Series and Discussion Questions)
Eastern Connecticut University | 2023

This series is aimed at providing basic awareness to early childhood educators about how experiences with trauma may manifest in the classroom, how educators might respond in the moment to trauma-related behaviors, and how to set up the classroom environment to support children with a variety of needs and build the resilience of all children. The three videos include:

  • Understanding the Potential Effects of Trauma on Young Children (7:51)
  • Creating Classroom Environments that Build Resilience (6:26)
  • Responding to Trauma-Related Behaviors in Early Childhood Settings (8:25)
Supporting Development of Self-Regulation in Young Children: Tips for Practitioners Working in Classroom Settings-Infants
Published: Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation - Mar 2019 These documents provide tips to help caregivers use co-regulation to support early development of self-regulation skills in infants and toddlers. They provide further explanation of the research to practice information found in the “Snapshots” that summarize key self-regulation concepts and interventions and practice briefs that describe self-regulation development in early childhood and co-regulation from birth to young adulthood in more detail.
Supporting the Grieving Child and Family (Webinar)
American Academy of Pediatrics | Length: 14:37 mins

The vast majority of children experience the death of a close family member or friend. Bereavement can have a profound and long-term impact on children’s psychological adjustment, academic achievement, and personal development. This session will discuss basic skills for pediatric healthcare providers in how to talk with and support grieving children and families and outline some of the unique challenges posed by grief during the current COVID-19 pandemic. It also addresses the difference between trauma and grief and how we need to be trauma informed and grief sensitive. Additional resources are identified including resources from the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement3

Ten Things Every Teacher Needs to Know About Trauma
February 22, 2018 For children who have experienced trauma, learning can be a big struggle. But once trauma is identified as the root of the behavior, we can adapt our approach to help kids cope when they’re at school. Detroit-based clinical director of the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children, a program of the Starr Global Learning Network, Caelan Kuban Soma offers these tips for understanding kids who have been through trauma, plus strategies for helping them. You can also check out our video: What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Childhood Trauma.
Terrorism and War Sharpen Focus on Traumatic Effects of Violence on Babies and Toddlers: Resources Available to Help Children, Families
Zero to Three | October 2023It’s difficult for parents and caregivers under profound stress to convey the sense of unconditional love and security that every baby needs and deserves, and that instability can also have lifelong consequences. Even miles and continents away from an explosion or gunshot, countless families are grappling with how to best support their children who may be seeing or hearing about violence. And many families have relatives and close friends in war-torn regions who are being directly affected. ZERO TO THREE has developed several free resources for parents, caregivers and professionals who support them, that offer guidance on helping young children grieve and process traumatic experiences and enabling them to provide the best care for babies and themselves in times of war and turmoil:
The California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project
February 2022

“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.

The Forgotten Households
UC Oregon, Rapid EC Project | May 5, 2020

Households of young children with disabilities are not getting the support they need during the COVID-19 pandemic. When we launched the RAPID-EC weekly nationally representative survey on April 6, we were sure that we would find that households with children age five and under would need additional support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We were less prepared to see dramatic results for households in which there is a young child with a disability.Our data suggest that these households are facing particularly difficult circumstances and require additional resources and supports.

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.

  1. Why Talking About Tough Topics With Children is Important
  2. Tough Topics That Kids Might Bring Up
    1. Talking to Kids About School Shootings
    2. Talking to Kids About Death
    3. Talking to Kids About Exclusion, Racism, and Discrimination
    4. Talking to Kids About Mental Health
    5. Talking to Kids About Illness
    6. Talking to Kids About Divorce
  3. 5 Steps for Talking to Children About Tough Topics
  4. Trauma-Informed Tips and Strategies
  5. Children's Book Recommendations
Trauma Guide from Healthy Foster Care America and American Academy of Pediatrics
Healthy Foster Care America (HFCA) is an initiative of the AAP and its partners to improve the health and well-being outcomes of children and teens in foster care.
Trauma Informed Care – Perspectives and Resources: A comprehensive web-based, video-enhanced resource tool
Published: July 27, 2016 Many resources, actions, and lessons learned from entities that have become trauma informed, are necessary to help child-serving systems and provider organizations on their journey to becoming trauma informed. The National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health at Georgetown University and JBS International created this web-based tool to support leaders and decision makers at all levels (national, state, tribal, territorial, and local) in taking steps on their journey. This tool comprised of issue briefs, video interviews, and resource lists tells a story of implementation of trauma informed services and offers guidance and resources to help you on your implementation journey.
Trauma Lingers for Those Who Have Experienced Seclusion and Restraint
Disability Scoop | January 25, 2022

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.”

Trauma-Informed Care, and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Podcast)
Published: Feb 2017 In 2015, the Hogg Foundation published When Disability is a Disguise, a guide to understanding why the mental health needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are overlooked or ignored, in large part because disabilities often overshadow mental health conditions. The report called for looking at IDD through a trauma-informed lens. A continued topic of discussion, we speak with Dr. Karyn Harvey who has decades of experience working with adults with IDD. She gives her perspective on what it would mean for both caregivers and the system as a whole to be more “trauma-informed.”
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 | October 19, 2021

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.

Understanding Stress and Resilience in Young Children (Video Series)
Head Start

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.

Ways to Counter the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Psychology Today
October 4, 2019 Groundbreaking research conducted in the 1990s found that the greater number of negative childhood experiences a person had, the more likely they were to experience poor health outcomes later in life such as heart disease, liver disease, and cancer. A new study published in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect has found that positive experiences, such as having a teacher who cares about them, can buffer against these negative outcomes. What are the implications for care providers and early childhood educators?
When Someone Your Child Loves Dies: A Guide from the Fred Rogers Center (PDF)
2019

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.

Zero to Three: Cope After Exposure to a Traumatic Event
Identifies what you might see in infants and toddlers exposed to trauma and what you can do to support them.
Zero to Three: Trauma and Stress
Zero to Three

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.