By Riane Eisler — 2012
A recent poll found that the biggest issue for voters as the 2008 election approaches is not the Iraq war. It's an issue that leaders have not been focusing on: the well-being of America's children.
Read on rianeeisler.com
CLEAR ALL
When Luke gets angry, he tries to remember to look at his bracelet. It reminds him of what he can do to calm himself: stop, take a deep breath, count to four, give yourself a hug and, if necessary, ask an adult for help.
Bad policy and paranoid parenting are making kids too safe to succeed.
Of course we want to keep children safe. But exposure to normal stresses and strains is vital for their future wellbeing.
If the threats we encounter are extreme, persistent, or frequent, we become too sensitized, overreacting to minor challenges and sometimes experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
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Although children are born ready to learn and grow, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur in youth resulting in toxic stress. And that toxic stress from ACEs can literally change how the brain develops and affect how the body responds to stress as one ages.
The wisdom that Alice Miller shares with us in her famous book, The Drama of the Gifted Child, is something that every therapist who works with children revisits more often than we would like.