I saw firsthand how childhood trauma can affect children. My grandparents ran a foster home and eventually adopted seven children. These kids became more than foster children to me; they became part of my family. One of the hardest parts was getting close to them, watching them become comfortable and feel safe, and then having to watch them go back to the same situations they came from. Every child had a different background and their own story. Some experienced neglect, abuse, instability, or other forms of trauma that no child should have to experience. It was extremely difficult to see a child finally feel safe and loved and then have to leave that environment. These experiences were very difficult for my family and me, and even more so for the foster child being affected.
\nThe Body Keeps the Score helped me understand these experiences in a different way. Van der Kolk explains that trauma does not simply disappear when the traumatic event is over. It can affect how someone thinks, behaves, handles emotions, trusts people, and responds to stress. This is especially important with children because they may not know how to explain what they are feeling. A child who is acting out, shutting down, or having trouble trusting adults may not just be a \u201cproblem child.\u201d There is usually a reason behind their behavior. Instead of asking, \u201cWhat is wrong with this child?\u201d we should ask, \u201cWhat happened to this child?\u201d I believe the foster care system needs to take this trauma-informed approach more seriously. Children should receive consistent support and mental health resources that focus on what they have experienced, rather than only focusing on their behavior.
\nEven though childhood trauma and foster care can be extremely difficult, I believe there is still a lot of hope. Children need stability, patience, and people who will continue to show up for them. My grandparents showed me how important that can be by opening their home to so many children and eventually adopting seven of them. They gave these kids a place where they could feel loved and supported. Their story taught me that trauma does not have to determine a child’s entire future. With the right support, safe relationships, and people who believe in them, children can heal and have the opportunity to build a better life. Sometimes having just one person who refuses to give up on a child can make a bigger difference than we realize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I saw firsthand how childhood trauma can affect children. My grandparents ran a foster home and eventually adopted seven children. These kids became more than foster children to me; they became part of my family. One of the hardest parts was getting close to them, watching them become comfortable and feel safe, and then having […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26228,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26228"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3401"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3403,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3401\/revisions\/3403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}