Trauma-Informed Care - The 4 Rs
This is the second in the resources around trauma. The earlier post can be found here with the other resource posts.
Although early childhood trauma has deep impacts on young children, there is also much evidence that caregivers and teachers can promote resiliency in young children through trauma-informed care. Trauma-informed care starts with a strong foundation for all children: through safe and predictable environments; nurturing, responsive caregiving; and support for learning new social-emotional skills.
SAMHSA's National Center for Trauma-Informed Care (NCTIC) recommends a trauma-informed approach focused on the 4 Rs. Here are some ways that applies to a preschool program:
Realizing how trauma can impact children through teacher education
How much learning have I done around trauma and its impact on child development? Do I know how to recognize common symptoms of trauma? Am I familiar with trauma’s impacts on attachment and trust in the people around the child? How do I connect with children and families about experiences of trauma?
Recognizing a trauma response in an individual child
How do I check in with families and children? What does a trauma response look like for the children in my classroom? What skills do they already have? What is triggering for them? What do they need when they are triggered? How can I provide flexibility and nurturance to them in those moments? How can I build on their skills to cope?
Responding to trauma
How do I notice and respond to behaviors related to trauma? How can I help children feel safe in my classroom? Are there preventative steps I could take to reduce triggers and increase predictability? How can I help to build trust with children? How can I teach and practice coping skills such as emotional regulation and impulse control? How can I help children to reflect on their response and offer opportunities for restorative practices? How do I support families to reduce trauma? What is the narrative I am giving to children and families about trauma (their own and others')?
Resisting Retraumatization in the response to trauma
Do children feel safe with my response to their behaviors? Are there preventative steps I can take to make sure children trust me? How can I build trusting relationships with families? How do I respect children and their personal boundaries? Do I forgive children and move on? How do I use an equity lens to respond to trauma?
The 4Rs are the foundation for creating trauma-informed systems and programs.
Dig Deeper:
In Brief: The Science of Resilience (video from Harvard's Center on the Developing Child)
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Protective Factors: The factors that can help to build resilience in young children.
