Find more tips for building your child’s resilience. This includes maintaining consistent routines, setting clear boundaries, offering predictable and secure relationships, promoting open communication, and showing physical affection such as giving hugs and cuddles. The most impactful ways to support our children are by providing safety, security, consistency, and affection. Seeking help is a sign of strength, as you find solutions to care for the well-being of your child.Ĭaregivers can also help protect children from experiencing the effects of toxic stress and help them cope with difficult experiences. If you do notice persistent or severe signs of trauma in your child, the best next step is to find a trauma-informed therapist, counselor, or mental health provider who specializes in supporting children. Extreme and otherwise unexplained changes in your children’s emotional responses, behaviors, and personality are the most important indicators that something might be wrong. It’s always important to remember that children might show one or two of these signs from time to time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve experienced trauma. These regressions are usually temporary and part of the child's coping process.Ĭertain triggers, such as sights, sounds, or smells associated with the traumatic event can bring up distressing memories or flashbacks and can cause your child to experience intense fear, panic attacks, or vivid nightmares.
It can be a way for them to cope with the impact of trauma and may include behaviors such as bed-wetting after potty-training, thumb-sucking, or speaking like a younger child. Trauma can cause developmental regression, which means temporarily reverting back to behaviors, skills, or developmental milestones they had previously outgrown. Physical signs of trauma can include a sudden increase in headaches, stomachaches, changes in appetite, weight fluctuations, or physical complaints without any apparent medical cause. These behaviors may serve as unhealthy ways to cope with the trauma or attempts to regain a sense of control over their lives. Behavioral signs to look for include a significant increase in aggression, withdrawal, avoiding activities they previously enjoyed, sudden and unexplained sleep disturbances, or uncharacteristic difficulties with concentrating.
A sudden increase in outbursts, anger, or other heightened emotions can indicate that your child is having a hard time coping with a difficult situation.Ĭhildren who have experienced trauma might show sudden changes in their behavior. Children who have experienced trauma might have a much harder time managing their emotions. It’s important to check in on their emotional and physical health and keep an eye out for any major changes in their personality or behaviors.Įmotional signs of trauma can include a big increase in their fear, anxiety, sadness, irritability, or a notable change in their overall mood. It can lead to long-lasting physical, mental, and emotional effects that can disrupt their development and overall well-being.Įach child's response to trauma may be unique and influenced by their age, developmental stage, and more. Toxic stress occurs when a child experiences ongoing adversity without the needed support from caring adults. By addressing trauma in its early stages, it becomes easier to manage and can protect children from experiencing toxic stress. Recognizing trauma in children early on makes it possible to intervene and provide support right away. Situations such as major accidents, natural disasters, violence, loss, or significant life changes can lead to a trauma response in children. This trauma can make it challenging for children to regain a sense of stability and safety, regulate their emotions, or have the ability to effectively manage and respond to their emotions in an appropriate way. Children may experience trauma when they’re faced with extremely difficult situations.