August Blog

Transition and trauma are like fire and gasoline. It is so hard for children who experience trauma to transition into new seasons, new homes, new routines, etc. Many caregivers I’ve spoken to recently have struggled with their kin children’s behaviors. Often times the child’s age and the behaviors they are having  don’t appear to line up. It is so important to understand how trauma impacts the brain and specifically development. For instance, a child in elementary school should be able to start understanding cause and effect. Often times we see kids who’ve experienced trauma not able to make that connection way later. They often have “temper tantrums” that are not age appropriate. Many kinship caregivers have mentioned the behavior their kin child has appears to be years behind where they are. Meeting the child where they are at emotionally can be hard and sometimes very triggering for the caregiver. All children are on their own timeline and healing takes however long it takes. Support and having someone to talk to about some of these challenging behaviors is key. Depending on what community you live in, there are resources for you such as home visiting programs, support groups, individual therapy for both you and the kin child. If you are struggling with trauma behaviors, please reach out to a Kinship Navigator by calling 2-1-1.