Reducing trauma for young children and infants

When they are born children begin to absorb and take on what is around them (the physical environment), the experiences they have (what they receive from their parents regarding food, shelter, warmth, clothing (basic needs being met) any interactions they have with other people (midwife, plunket nurse, GP, extended family, friends etc). These babies (infants) from the age of birth -6 years of age do not question their environment, interactions or if their basic needs are met or not all they do psychologically is to receive their experiences, no judgement, no rationalisation and sometimes no understanding.

As they receive these experiences in their life they become stored in their building/developing psyche (subconscious mind-body system)– much like a hard drive of a computer, just downloading willy-nilly every minute of every day and storing that information away for future use.

What this means in practice is there is a potential for developing babies, infants, toddlers and young children to suffer minor psychological trauma every day unless we as parents, grandparents, caregivers and guardians (and teachers and health professionals too) offer some level of protection by way of choosing what experiences we expose our children to.

We are always looking out for our kids naturally – especially when it comes to their general health and wellbeing – are they in clean dry clothes, do they get to eat healthy nourishing foods, are they getting educated effectively, do they have a healthy and safe home environment.

When it comes to monitoring their experiences and exposures to environments they may harm them psychologically and may impact them in the future is a whole other ball game. Hope fully I can help with some useful tips to help minimise the risks in this regard.

Here are 5 tips for reducing trauma in infants and young children. 

1. TV or screen-time – When I talk about TV’s or other screens or DVDs it is not about limiting the time of exposure but more about the content. What I mean by this is you cannot always be sure of the suitability of a programme for an infant or child to watch purely by the rating listed on the programme, G, PG, PGR etc. The parent or care giver really should watch the program before the child to check for suitability. An alternative is to watch it with the child and if at any point you feel the content is no longer appropriate then turn it off. Sometimes families will watch the News whilst an young infant is in the room – even if the child cannot see the images completely the sounds of the news program talking about trauma, conflict, war and disease can still affect the infant. Having a TV on in the background can also be traumatising in that it is excess stimulation that very young infants can find overwhelming. If you had never watched TV before or knew of anything outside of the safety of your own family how would you feel watching that programme for the first time? If in doubt Turn it off.
2. Refusing or limiting physical contact – You can never give too many hugs. We as human beings crave human connection and touch. Using baby/infant/child massage is a wonderful way to create a close bond and reassurance between adult and child. This can also be a way to treat upset and trauma too. Hugs and cuddles are essential for a healthy growing child.
3. Forcing new experiences – rather than asking if they are ready. This is a lot easier with older children. However, if you are in-tune with your infant you can gauge very quickly if they are ready for a new experience or not. You can always trial something out but don’t force the child or infant if they obviously become distressed and try again another time in the future.
4.  Talk to them all the time – explain what is happening, what will happen with regard to every change that occurs that includes changing a nappy, feeding, getting ready to leave the house. The sound of your voice is reassuring – use a calm and quiet tone to your voice.
5. Get to know your child’s temperament – some children are more sensitive than others some are more active than others – by knowing your child well you will be able to tell if certain situation may be difficult for them to cope with.

Remember that being a parent for the first time (or second or third time) does include quite a lot of trial and error so do your best and if you make a mistake firstly forgive yourself and think about a different approach for next time or talk to your partner, husband, wife or significant other about it – each parent has their own approach and sometimes children will respond better to one parent over the other in certain circumstances. Patience and love for yourself and your child will help to guide you in the right direction.