ZERO TO THREE:
www.zerotothree.org
National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families.
Brief description of the Organization's focus:
Zero to Three is a non-profit organization that helps people of all kinds to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. Their mission is to help promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. They offer help on how to promote good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences for all infants and toddlers.
One current issue/trend from the newsletter/website that caught my attention was: IMPACT OF TRAUMA. Young children are affected by events that take place around them everyday. Although babies are not old enough to truly understand what is going on around them they pay close attention to what is around them, what they hear and see, and they absorb images that surround them. They are deeply impacted by the emotions of the people they rely on for love and security; such as their parents. When a child experiences trauma there are developmental consequences. Professionals need to always keep an eye open for children that may have experienced a trauma so they can get the help they need sooner rather then later. "Parents and caregivers play a very important role in helping infants and
toddlers cope and recover from traumatic and stressful experiences." (Zero to Three, 2012) There are many signs of infants and toddlers who experience trauma. Some of them include: decrease in activity level, decrease in appetite, increase in irritability/change in personality, and even sleep disturbances. There are things we can do as parents, teachers, and professionals to prevent our children from experiencing trauma. We can't always prevent it but there are things we can do to help prevent it. Let's work together so our precious children do not have to endure this pain. They sure don't deserve it.
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteAny children who experience trauma really get to me! Children are not supposed to have to experience trauma! They are precious and do not deserve it. It is scary to me that people can hurt and/or damage little ones!
Stacy- It saddens me that young children have to go through so much at such a young age. Recently, I had a child in my program that had witnessed a huge fight between her parents. The fight got out of control, and the father began choking the mother. When the child came to our program, it was very difficult for her to cope with others. At one point, when she was frustrated, she wrapped her hands around one of her peer's necks and tried to choke them. It was sad to witness a three year old only coping the way she learned. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMy heart breaks for children who experience things like this. I can't watch the news when there are things about children on there. I have a friend who experiences such trauma as a child and it has really messed with her as an adult.
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