As the school year starts, one of the most important skills we Plan B parents can develop is how to advocate for our kids with the educational system. Childhood trauma—whether from abuse, neglect, family separation, or other hardships—can disrupt concentration, memory, and…
A new study shines a spotlight on something Plan B parents deal with every day: how unpredictable environments in childhood can have lasting effects on our kids. There are some good pointers in the results about how those of us who have inherited kids with…
How to help our kids transition to adulthood has been on my mind lately, as we are currently helping a young adult who has aged out of foster care. Maybe I’m just getting old, but it seems to be a more difficult…
Today is Wrong Way Corrigan Day, and it has a lot of great lessons for those of us Plan B parents trying to weave love, patience, and resilience into our families’ stories. Douglas Corrigan, a 1930s pilot, became famous for flying from New York to…
Today is World Youth Skills Day, and a good time to consider the value of Career and Technical Education (CTE) for our kids. Children who have suffered trauma often face failure and more trauma in traditional classrooms. Not every kid is wired for academics, and…
Anyone who spends enough time looking at the effects of trauma on child development easily could conclude that our children are doomed. Current research in child welfare connects trauma to everything from obesity to significant increases in anxiety and depression. Fortunately, there is a growing…
I ran across an interesting review of mental health studies concluding that stories are an excellent way to build resilience in children. I’m a firm believer in the power of stories, and I love research that supports my ideas. This particular review reminds us that storytelling is…
In working with kids who have suffered trauma, there are several important principles we need to keep in mind. One critical point we need to understand is that childhood trauma does cause major problems, but it doesn’t have to…
Parenting kids who have gone through hard times requires that we understand childhood trauma. After years of not understanding the topic, suddenly everyone who works with children seems to be talking about being “trauma-informed.” To help our kids move forward, we must understand what trauma is as well as what it is not…
Sometimes when raising other people’s children, it’s difficult to tell whether we are having any impact at all. Our kids often seem so mired in the aftermath of their trauma that we can’t see how to help them move forward. A recent study gives us hope that our simply being a supportive presence in our kids’ lives can make a profound difference…
An excellent article from Nature magazine explores the research showing that children benefit from risky play. Mental health professionals are discovering that children allowed to stretch their limits in uncertain and adventurous play benefit both physically and emotionally. Those opportunities allow them to develop coordination and spatial awareness, but also confidence and resilience. A study from Norway that spearheaded the field found that adolescents who spent less time in positive thrill-seeking — such as outdoor adventure — were more likely to take negative risks such as shoplifting. A more recent study from Britain found that during the COVID-19 lockdown, children who spent more time in risky play had fewer mental health problems…
A study of Dutch school children indicates that participation in team sports correlates with increased executive function in children. The study followed 880 Dutch children from 2006 through 2017. The researchers used meters to measure physical activity in children at ages 5 to 6 and questionnaires to assess sports participation in children ages 10 to 11. The study then had parents complete a questionnaire that measures executive function. “Executive function” is a phrase that encompasses thinking skills that children need to organize facts, remember details, make decisions, and stay focused.