Trauma
At Hope 4 Hurting Kids, we recognize that there are a wide variety of things that can give rise hurt and pain in a young persons life. Not all such circumstances would be considered traumatic, but there are millions and millions of kids and teens who have experienced trauma in their young lives including abuse, abandonment, domestic violence, natural disasters and more. This page is dedicated to helping young people deal with the traumas they face and the impacts of those traumas. We have included in this page destructive behaviors some young people engage in as a results of pain and trauma. If you would like to limit your search to a particular area, please click on one of the options below. (Note: there are a variety of family issues including divorce and family disruption which constitute trauma in a young person’s life. These are dealt with separately here on Hope 4 Hurting Kids and can be found here.)
Divorce, Cohabitation, Single Parenting and the Increased Risk of Child Abuse and Neglect
A recent report which enumerated the risks associated with kids whose parents are cohabiting rather than married showed that one of the significant risks for children in those living arrangement was an increased chance of suffering abuse or neglect. In reviewing the statistics set forth in that report, it became evident that the risk of abuse and neglect is a very real risk for children in cohabiting households, children from single parent families and children of divorce. In this article, we will define child abuse and neglect, examine some of the statistics regarding the level of abuse and neglect for ...
How To Help A Friend Considering Suicide (An H4HK Cheat Sheet)
September is Suicide Prevention Month and it's time for another H4HK Cheat Sheet to help people to better understand the issue of suicide and how they can help. So far, we've looked at Suicide Risk Factors and Warning Signs. The text of today's cheat sheet is included below and a printable pdf version can be accessed by clicking the picture above. Introduction If you have a friend who you think is considering suicide, you may feel lost or wonder what the right thing to do is or whether you should do anything at all. While there is no one right thing ...
Suicide Warning Signs (An H4HK Cheat Sheet)
September is Suicide Prevention Month and it's time for another H4HK Cheat Sheet to help people to better understand the issue of suicide and how they can help. Last week we looked at Suicide Risk Factors, and today we're looking at Warning Signs. Check back next Tuesday for our final cheat sheet in this series. The text of today's cheat sheet is included below and a printable pdf version can be accessed by clicking the picture above. Introduction Warning Signs of suicide are those things to watch out for in a person’s life and actions that may indicate they are ...
Suicide Risk Factors (An H4HK Cheat Sheet)
September is Suicide Prevention Month and we are introducing a series of H4HK Cheat Sheets to help people to better understand the issue of suicide and how they can help. Check back each Tuesday for the rest of the month for additional cheat sheets. This first sheet covers Suicide Risk Factors. The text is included below and a printable pdf version can be accessed by clicking the picture above. Introduction Risk Factors for suicide are those things about a person and their circumstances (many of which they have no control over) that statistically make them more predisposed to attempt suicide ...
Suicide Prevention Guide
September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Last week, we received the following e-mail: With September being 'Suicide Awareness Month', I have been putting together a list of resources to share with our after school program. One of my helpers found this guide: Healthy Mind and Healthy Body: Suicide Prevention Guide www.whitesandstreatment.com/healthy-mind-healthy-body-suicide-prevention-guide/ Would you mind including it on your page? My helper's name is Kristin, if you would like to add that. She's 11, and I thought it was a great find for her! the Healthy Mind and Healthy Body: Suicide Prevention Guide is a resource from White Sands Treatment in ...
Emotional Concussions Leave Untold Damage
In our world today many children experience what is known as an emotional concussion. Emotional concussions can be just as lethal, and sometimes even more so, than a physical concussion. Emotional concussions occur when young children live in dysfunctional homes controlled by alcohol, drugs, explosive tempers and homes full of stress. They happen when children live with dysfunctional adults and with people who are physically, emotionally, and/or sexually abusive. Divorce can also be a major cause of an emotional concussion. From the ACEs Too High website we find, “The life-in-dysfunction emotional concussion is a day-in-day-out brain bludgeoning by stress-induced hormones ...
Defining Trauma (What Is It and Why Does It Matter)
Many of the young people we work with here at Hope 4 Hurting Kids have experienced some sort of trauma in their lives. Whether we are dealing with the trauma itself or the side effects of it, it is important to understand what trauma really is and the impact it has on kids. This past week, I was listening to a podcast called the Trauma Informed Support podcast (www.tipbs.com) which included the most concise and clear definition I have heard. The podcast is directed towards teachers working with kids who have experienced a trauma, and I would expand the list ...
Parents Just Don’t Understand
I’ll probably date myself with this one, but back when I was growing up, there was a popular song about the relationship between kids and parents called “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” Nowhere is this more evident than when talking about disrupted families. One of the issues we face in making people aware of the impact of divorce on kids is the general disconnect between how parents and other adults view how their kids react to a family disruption and how the kids react. Until we begin to truly see divorce from the child’s point of view, we cannot be in ...
The Plague of Suicide
If you’ve thought about suicide, or lost a loved one to suicide, you need to know that you’re not alone! If you currently feel hopeless, I urge you to call the suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255, or you can send an anonymous email to jo@samaritans.org. Sometimes it helps just to write out what you’re feeling, and someone will respond. Editor's Note: Cindi is very open and honest in what follows about her own journey and speaks openly about suicide and attempts at suicide. While we commend her on her transparency and the associated message of hope, we also recognize that such ...
Stop Picking On Me: A First Look at Bullying by Pat Thomas (A Review)
About the Book Stop Picking On Me: A First Look At Bullying by Pat Thomas is part of the "A First Look At...Book" designed to help kids in Kindergarten through 3rd grade cope with different events and circumstances they may find themselves in. Who Is This Book For The book is meant to help kids understand bullying including who does it, why it happens and how to prevent it. The targeted age group is kindergarten through 3rd grade though we think it would be beneficial if read to younger kids and even for slightly older elementary aged kids who could read through ...
Suicide and Younger Children
Many people believe that suicide is just a teen and adult issue, but rates of child suicide are rising. As society forces kids to grow up earlier and earlier, our fear is that we will only see these rates continue to increase. The graph above is from a CDC report on the death of kids aged 10-14 from 1999 through 2014 (QuickStats: Death Rates for Motor Vehicle Traffic Injury, Suicide, and Homicide Among Children and Adolescents aged 10–14 Years — United States, 1999–2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:1203. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6543a8). You can see from the graph that while auto ...
ACEs and the Impact of Trauma on Kids
At Hope 4 Hurting Kids, we deal with the fall out and impacts a childhood trauma all the time. Much research has been done on childhood trauma, and the most widely know ongoing study is called ACEs for short (Adverse Childhood Experiences). The studies show that these Adverse Childhood Experiences statistically result in all kinds of problems through childhood, adolescence and the adult years. They also show how observant and caring adults in the child's life can help. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains: Childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization ...
