Below See: TIPS, IDEAS & SUGGESTIONS FOR TRAUMATIC CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES
What Are Traumatic Childhood Experiences?
Traumatic childhood experiences may be caused by many reasons. Typically, trauma happens when a child experiences neglect, violence, illness, natural disasters, and abuse, including physical, sexual, and emotional.
Sadly, these traumatic childhood experiences can impact a child throughout their childhood and into adulthood.
Therefore, identifying traumatic childhood experiences can help to provide support for the children and/or adults dealing with the results of their trauma and their negative childhood experiences.
As a mother of five grown children, I now raise two grandchildren, who suffered traumatic childhood experiences when they were younger.
Recognizing and treating their trauma is an extremely important process in helping them become stable and successful adults.
This post may include affiliate links, which means I will receive a small commission if you purchase through my link, at no additional cost to you. For full disclosure read here.
Types of Trauma in Childhood
Neglect of a Child
Neglect of a child comes in various forms of mistreatment. The most common form of neglect is not providing basic needs, such as food, clothing, a safe home, or medical care.
Childhood neglect can also occur if parents or guardians do not provide emotional support and/or withhold affection or love.
Additionally, children need supervision and oversight from dangerous and unsafe situations. If parents and/or caregivers are not providing these basics, children are being neglected.
Interesting fact, often children do not know or understand they are being neglected. My grandchildren both experienced some form of neglect, however, if you asked them even years later, they won’t or don’t recognize their experiences as neglectful.
Yet, I believe the older they get they understand the unusual behaviors they experienced in their very young childhood and acknowledge it was not typical of most families.
Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
It is said that children who experience violence between parents or partners are at risk of being violent in their own relationships when they are older.
Children exposed to domestic violence typically have difficulty in school and staying focused. They may also find it hard to make and keep friends for fear of them finding out about the violence in their home.
If domestic violence includes threats, and intimidation involving weapons, children may experience a wide range of fear and emotional instability.
This emotional instability can lead to a large variety of problems including bedwetting, anxiety, depression, and self-harm.
Also, children exposed to violence may turn to drug or alcohol use to try to cope with the violence they are surrounded by. Children may also become violent toward others and get involved in illegal activities.
Children exposed to domestic violence are innocent victims and should seek psychological treatment to deal with the overwhelming behaviors they experienced through domestic violence.
For FREE CONFIDENTIAL 24/7 help, you can reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline or call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224 or Text START to 88788
Family Illness
Living with a family illness can be an extremely traumatic childhood experience. Whether the family illness is a parent, a grandparent, or a child, the family is impacted in many ways.
Sadly, the stress due to family illness can be overwhelming for children. Watching a loved one struggle with sickness or in pain is emotionally difficult for everyone in the family.
The impact of a terminal illness on the family can cause anxiety, frustration, and resentment. How illness affects family members can be extremely challenging and emotional.
While family members try to provide support and assistance to the sick member, they are also trying to care for the other members of the family.
Often, children can be overlooked or ignored while a parent or caretaker is caring for a sick family member.
Taking Care of a Sick Family Member
Unfortunately, I experienced a family illness when my children were little. My brother, who lived alone, was dying of terminal cancer and needed care.
Since my youngest son was only 4 years old and not in school, he was often with me when I cared for my brother. I could tell my brother’s appearance scared my son. His bald head and bulging eyes from his medications frightened my little boy.
My once very tall, handsome, strong brother and uncle, became a weak and fragile man. My son who used to run and jump in his lap now cried when I arrived at his home and didn’t want to go in.
It was SOOO hard for me and for my son, yet I never let my brother know how scared my son was of him, but it broke my heart!
Tragically, my brother died at 36 years old. It was awful for all of us! But my son, now a grown man, truly lives with his own internally traumatic childhood experiences by watching his uncle decline and ultimately die.
Regardless of how much I tried to protect my little boy, his life was affected by the trauma of our family illness. I honestly believe that as a 4-year-old it changed him.
After my brother’s death, my son was no longer the independent happy go lucky little boy he once was. He became quiet and reserved and stuck by my side for many years!
I wholeheartedly believe that having someone you love die and watching someone you love die are two completely different experiences. Sadly, I’ve experienced both, as many of us have.
But I believe watching someone die changes who you are as a person and your individual perspectives on life forever!
Fortunately, my son has lived and learned through these traumatic childhood experiences and is a successful adult with two degrees and his own home.
But he still remembers his uncle and I will always remember our family illness that ultimately caused many difficult traumatic childhood experiences for my son and all of our family members.
Childhood Trauma from Natural Disasters
Most natural disasters occur without warning. Regardless of how prepared one may be, natural disasters can kill thousands of people and destroy millions of dollars worth of property and structures.
Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, and floods, are just a few natural events that occur all over the world.
Although there are many types of natural disasters, these occurrences are only considered natural disasters when the outcomes or results of the disaster negatively affect or impact human life and/or property.
Meaning, if an earthquake occurs in the middle of the world and does not impact human life, it is not technically considered a natural disaster. Interesting!
Nonetheless, when a natural disaster happens, it can destroy homes, properties, and lives. Families, especially children can be traumatically affected by a natural disaster if their homes, lives, or properties are affected.
War Refugees
On another note, although war refugees, persecution, and displacement are not considered natural disasters, all are considered traumatic childhood experiences.
Families and children living in a war zone experience trauma every day. Often children need to flee their homeland to look for safety in another country or distant location.
Growing up in a dangerous and unstable country inevitably creates trauma. When rations are limited for food, clothing, and shelter in volatile regions, it is nearly impossible for children to escape traumatic childhood experiences.
Services, such as the American Red Cross provides help, aid, and assistance to families and communities.
Also, FEMA, the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency, provides support and assistance to children and families.
Helpful Resources About Trauma
Childhood Abuse
According to the CDC, Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, child abuse has become a catastrophe situation in the United States and around the world. Statistics prove that 1 in 7 children under the age of 18 has experienced child abuse.
Children who have experienced abuse may have lasting effects on their health and well-being. Sadly, long-term outcomes from child abuse can continue into adulthood for many children.
Therefore, it is important for children who have traumatic childhood experiences of abuse to seek professional help.
There are three main types of child abuse that lead to traumatic childhood experiences for all children, regardless of their age, gender, or economic status.
Physical Abuse:
- Physical abuse includes any use of physical force or injury. Physical abuse may include actions such as hitting, punching, slapping, shaking, burning, suffocating, and any other physical harm.
- Physical abuse is any type of physical maltreatment that intentionally causes pain to a child.
- Signs of physical abuse include bruises, broken bones, wounds, cuts, black eyes, burns, and more.
- Often physically abused children are anxious and reserved and quiet around others.
- Abused children may appear worried and frightened and may flinch when touched or approached.
Sexual Abuse:
- Any act that forces or lures a child to partake in sexual activities is considered sexual abuse.
- Although a child may not understand what is happening to them, any sexual actions performed on a child are deemed sexual abuse.
- It is considered sexual abuse if a child is forced to participate in sexual activities, even if there is no force or violence against the child.
- Any sexual activity involving a child is considered sexual abuse, including oral sex, penetration, and intercourse.
- Sexual abuse may also include actions such as luring, grooming, or charming children, encouraging children to behave inappropriately, rubbing, kissing, masturbating, watching sexual activities, sharing sexual stories, undressing, or displaying sexual images and videos.
- These types of sexual abuse are traumatic childhood experiences and may require children to seek professional treatment to deal with their mental and physical trauma.
Emotional Abuse:
- Any behavior causing psychological or mental distress is considered emotional abuse.
- While most children are treated with love and affection, emotionally abused children are often deprived of positive attention and affection.
- Emotional abuse is exhibited by repeatedly insulting, yelling, or criticizing a child. Emotionally abused children may be teased, bullied, cursed at, or ignored by parents or family members.
- Children who are emotionally abused typically suffer from low self-esteem, and depression.
- The negative effects of emotional abuse can cause psychological disorders and substance misuse in adulthood.
- Emotional abuse is one of the traumatic childhood experiences that are extremely difficult to overcome without strong support and guidance from therapy and a professional counselor.
If you suspect a child is being abused, reach out to Emergency Child Abuse Hotline at: 1-800-4-A-CHILD OR 1-800-422-4453.
If you are a victim of child abuse or know someone who might be, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline or
call at 1-800-422-4453.
What is Childhood Trauma?
Childhood trauma is an individual situation that depends on the experiences each child may have. Typically, child trauma is felt when a childhood event or events are dangerous, violent, and/or life-threatening.
Children living in a scary or unsafe environment feel frightened and fearful. Additionally, children living in a violent environment may feel threatened or have been hurt or injured throughout their life.
Generally, these types of overwhelming feelings of helplessness create childhood trauma that may have long-term effects both mentally and physically on the child.
Although childhood trauma is often experienced within families, each child may have their own traumatic outcomes. Meaning, an older child may encounter more or less negative behaviors than a younger child or vice versa.
Regardless of the individual traumatic childhood experiences, each child may develop different coping mechanisms to deal with their particular trauma.
For additional information on Support Services for Children, and The 15 Top Parenting Challenges Concerning Parents & Grandparents.
Symptoms of Childhood Trauma in Adulthood
There are various types of traumas in childhood that can affect children in adulthood.
Often times adults with traumatic childhood experiences do not relate or connect their experiences in childhood to their adult circumstances.
However, research proves that trauma in childhood can be a significant factor in one’s ability to manage certain situations and may alter one’s behaviors.
Traumatic childhood experiences can greatly affect adult relationships as well as adult development.
ALL signs and symptoms of trauma should be addressed by a professional. However, some symptoms are more severe than others and can lead to dangerous outcomes.
Some symptoms, if recognized, acknowledged, and identified, can be treated with professional counseling and therapy. Such as:
- Anxiety: Continual nervousness. Feeling scared. Sweating. Panic attacks. Sleep problems. Trouble in personal areas such as school or work. Difficulty focusing or concentrating. Rapid heart rate, trouble breathing, etc.
- Depression: Loss of appetite. Feeling hopeless. Unable to sleep or not getting out of bed. Loss of motivation, etc.
- Lying or Denying: Often protecting those who hurt or traumatized them. Covering up situations or circumstances of the trauma. Making excuses.
- Aggression: Becoming violent towards others. Disobedient, defiant, and misbehaving.
- Negative Self-Worth: Taking the blame for the trauma inflicted on them. Ignoring or denying the traumatic childhood experiences they endured.
Other symptoms are more dangerous and may require long-term treatment and analysis to help resolve or recover from their traumatic childhood experiences. Such as:
- Dangerous Behaviors: Unsafe thrill-seeking, taking unnecessary risks, being impulsive with decisions, making careless financial decisions.
- Self-Destruction & Harm: Some children deal with emotional pain by cutting, burning, or physically hurting themselves. This behavior can become impulsive and is difficult to treat, and needs to be addressed with professional treatment.
- Drug & Alcohol Use: A large number of children with traumatic childhood experiences turn toward drug and/or alcohol use to numb their painful memories.
- Often children with childhood trauma have seen parents or caregivers using drugs and alcohol. Therefore, it becomes normal for children to use and abuse those substances.
- Substance use and abuse should be treated by a professional and may need lifelong treatment for recovery.
- PTSD: PTSD or posttraumatic stress disorder is developed after enduring trauma for weeks or over a long period of time.
- PTSD shows itself in many ways, such as anxiety, remembering and/or reliving traumatic childhood experiences, shame, guilt, self-destructive activities, sleep problems, intense nightmares, memories, isolation, and more.
- Symptoms from PTSD can last for years into adulthood and should be treated by a mental health professional.
Treating Trauma
Treating trauma can be very complex. Although there are many approaches to help treat trauma, treatment is determined on an individual basis.
As previously mentioned, all traumatic childhood experiences will manifest differently with each child.
Even siblings enduring the same childhood trauma generally do not feel the exact same sense of suffering and abuse as one another.
Therefore, treating trauma may have various steps and stages for each person.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a treatment that focuses on identifying areas of repression that need to be analyzed by a medical professional.
There are multiple therapies to help individuals explore past negative experiences.
Trauma-focused psychoeducation for traumatic childhood experiences includes relaxation skills, role play, troubleshooting, and redefining emotions and relationships are all part of psychiatric treatments.
Additionally, medication can benefit individuals who have lived through childhood trauma. Antidepressants as well as antipsychotics have been known to help those with trauma symptoms.
Final Considerations
Traumatic childhood experiences truly affect development; physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Victims of trauma should not remain quiet. It is extremely important to seek help and support in order to live a healthy and well-balanced life.
Fortunately, my two grandchildren continue to receive support from mental health professionals.
They also have learned to ask for help and assistance when needed. I hope as they enter adulthood, they will continue to look for services that will benefit them in difficult areas.
In the past, they both suffered from traumatic childhood experiences, but I feel confident that their current positive home life will guide them to a safe and full future.
TIPS, IDEAS & SUGGESTIONS FOR TRAUMATIC CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES
- Be gentle. Children who have lived through traumatic childhood experiences truly need a gentle touch.
- Don’t expect perfection. Often children with traumatic childhoods may be scared, quiet, and reserved. It may be difficult for them to show and express their skills and talents. When they do, don’t expect perfection.
- Praise them! Many children living through trauma have been insulted, ignored, or belittled. Be sure to praise your children, even if it is a small gesture.
