It is inevitable that we experience stress at every stage of our life. In fact, we need a certain level of stress or challenge to drive action. But when stress is too intense, frequent or sustained, it becomes toxic. Especially for children, when there is not a caring, comforting adult available to buffer the effects of stress, it inhibits learning and development. Stress without a supportive, responsive adult makes it hard for a child to form positive relationships, gain new skills and enjoy everyday life free of fear.

 

Melissa Williams, therapist and program director at St. David's Center for Child and Family Development, joins Marti & Erin for this first podcast of a three-part series that will help you learn how stress affects your child and you. Melissa discusses the stress response in children, toxic stress and its effect on children's development, and how we can respond to the effects of toxic stress. This three-part series will help you support your child’s self-regulation and coping strategies at times of stress and expand your own healthy coping strategies at the same time. Don’t miss this important discussion and those to follow in coming weeks.

 

WHAT STEPS WILL YOU TAKE TO MANAGE STRESS AND BUILD RESILIENCE?

What are the three levels of stress Mel Williams described? What new insights did you gain about the effects of stress on babies or very young children? And what simple things can you do to buffer a child’s stress when it can’t be avoided?

 

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT STRESS & RESILIENCE?

❉ FROM CO-REGULATION TO SELF-REGULATION: PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS THAT PREPARE OUR CHILDREN FOR LIFE. Tune into the first episode of our previous series on self-regulation with Melissa Williams from St. David's Center. This engaging and practical discussion highlights what is involved in co-regulation, with an emphasis on how to show, tell and practice together with our children. Melissa also highlights the importance of “rupture and repair,” describing how we can admit our mistakes at those times when we get it wrong with our kids (as we all do!), say we are sorry and tell our child what we will try to do differently the next time.

 

❉ DISCOVERING WHAT WILL HELP YOUR CHILD DEVELOP SELF-REGULATION SKILLS: DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS. One of the major developmental tasks in early childhood is self-regulation, which includes establishing healthy patterns of eating, sleeping and other routines. Even as older children and adults, we struggle with regulation at times, which can disrupt learning, relationships and other aspects of our lives. Robin Campbell and Cheryl Lundsgaard from St. David’s Center for Child & Family Development, shed light on what self-regulation means, how we can help our children become self-regulated, and how important it is to discover what works best for each unique member of our family.