Trauma-Informed Parenting Trauma-Informed Parenting

*If you missed the first article/podcast in this series, start here.
A growing body of research suggests that trauma (like childhood abuse, family violence, or food insecurity, among many other things) can be passed from one generation to the next.
With the scientific knowledge that trauma can be passed from one generation to the next, we can become discouraged and want to give up. When kiddos come “home” to us with trauma literally embedded in their genes, add that to our own trauma and we may be tempted to throw our hands up in the air and say, “I give up!” Or something like, “I guess trauma is part of our story. We’re stuck in a repeating cycle. Nothing we can about it.”
For me and my family, that meant forming new beliefs, habits, and practices. That's exactly what I'd like to talk about on this podcast).
Grab a cup of coffee and join me as I share how we can begin our healing journey!

Intergenerational trauma is a concept developed to help explain years of generational challenges within families. It is the transmission (or sending it down to younger generations) of the oppressive or traumatic effects of a historical event.
A growing body of research suggests that trauma (like childhood abuse, family violence, or food insecurity, among many other things) can be passed from one generation to the next.
Here’s how: Trauma can leave a chemical mark on a person’s genes, which can then be passed down to future generations. This mark doesn’t cause a genetic mutation, but it does alter the mechanism by which the gene is expressed. This alteration is not genetic, but epigenetic.
https://www.psycom.net/trauma/epigenetics-trauma
Genetics are passed down. Trauma is passed through the genes as well
Research conducted by Dr. Joan Kaufman, Director of the Child And Adolescent Research and Education (C.A.R.E) program, and colleagues found that “early life stress caused epigenetic changes that lowered the trigger required for a stress response.” 
Grab a cup of coffee and join me as I share some powerful practices to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma.

Renee Mill is an expert in evidence-based treatment for stress and anxiety, parenting without anger, and the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace.
In this episode, Renee Mill shares her expertise on anxiety in children! 
Overcoming Anxiety without Medication: Renee Mill's life's mission is to treat stress and anxiety without drugs using evidence-based treatment. This topic is controversial because anxiety medication is still widely used today, with a 5.7% increase in prescriptions for anti-anxiety medication in the United States from 2019 to 2020 (Healthcare Business & Technology). Renee Mill's views challenge the traditional approach to treating anxiety.
Grab a cup of coffee, turn up the episode, take notes, and learn with Renee!

Dr. Jerrod is back to share about Attachment  Based Trauma- Causes, Consequences, and Solutions.
First, he gives an overview of the attachment styles.
Second, he shares over twelve attachment issues.
Third, he shares some practices to help us attach to our kiddos.
Grab a cup of coffee, a pen, and a notebook, and get ready to learn with me. 
 

Everyone has a trauma bucket.
When we speak of trauma- our minds can automatically wander to events like wars, house fires, car accidents, a death in the family, and fill-in-the-blank. While all of the above is true, what about the sweet five-year-old we are watching fall to pieces in meltdown in front of us? We’re scratching our heads trying to figure out what is going on. The truth is, we all have trauma buckets. Some of us are born with empty buckets, others are born with a bucket that already has trauma - the six risk factors for trauma. When our kids have trauma in their bucket from birth or shortly thereafter, we must assume that any stress or new trauma can cause their bucket to fill quickly, causing meltdowns and overload. Knowing what sorts of trauma our kiddos have experienced helps us understand and help our kiddos. We can keep an eye on their trauma buckets to aim at keeping them from overflowing. Grab a cup of coffee and join me as I explain the layers of the trauma bucket.

Let's talk about religious trauma. Because this is Trauma-Informed Parenting, I’m going to focus on viewing my points through the lens of a child. Let’s imagine a child comes through the door of your church carrying a heavy load of trauma, emotional wounds, and the inability to regulate. Maybe this child also has sensory issues. Not only are the lights and sounds overwhelming, but adults are loud and getting in his face. Because he can’t control his wiggly body and he is operating in his downstairs brain -fight, flight, fawn, or freeze, he is corrected over and over. BERATED. Told he needs to behave. Grab a cup of coffee and join me as I talk about three habits your church can practice to reduce religious trauma!