How to help the child overcome a trauma

Negative situations involving trauma alter the way of life of any person. If these traumatic situations are experienced as children, our development of the personality and our cognitive processes may be affected. When we are small we are more vulnerable because we do not have the strategies that an

Negative situations involving trauma alter the way of life of any person. If these traumatic situations are experienced as children, our development of the personality and our cognitive processes may be affected. When we are small we are more vulnerable because we do not have the strategies that an adult has to face problems and we do not have the capacity to handle and express emotions.

Therefore, when a traumatic experience occurs in childhood, it will affect the formation of the child's personality, deeply penetrating and accompanying him throughout his life. Can parents do something? How to help the child overcome a trauma?

Causes of the appearance of some childhood trauma

When an event alters the child's routine it can become a negative experience and of great emotional impact since when the daily habits of the little ones are altered for them it is as if all the they know will stop making sense.

The situations that can give rise to traumas can be, for example: separation or divorce of the parents, living in an insecure environment such as within a family where abuse, illnesses, etc. are lived.

This type of experience creates high stress and insecurities. And it can be due to various reasons such as:

- Not being prepared to live the situation that is presented, either because it is not the time, or because he is living another type of situations that create problems at the same time.

- Having the feeling of not being able to face the situation and feeling weak. He feels that everything surpasses him.

- Has suffered a threat from someone and does not feel safe, nor protected.

What symptoms indicate that the child may suffer a trauma

It is very likely that throughout their childhood parents see that their children behave in such a way that they understand. If this way of acting of the children lasts a short time, it should not be so important. The problem appears if it is repeated and several of the following symptoms occur frequently. In this case you should seek the help of a professional if:

- You are sad and want nothing.- He is anxious and nervous.

- Has difficulty concentrating.

- Continuous changes in mood and irritability.

- The child has nightmares or difficulties in sleep. V - Live with constant fear

How can we help the child to overcome a trauma

It can happen that to those adults it seems a traumatic situation is not so and that the child's reaction to the situation he lives is disproportionate. Keep in mind that children understand their environment differently from the elderly and that the most important thing is that the adults who accompany the children in their development know how to validate the emotions of the children although these do not seem logical, because they are real.

It is true that many times children do not know how to express what happens to them, they do not know how to ask for help. Therefore, it is convenient to be aware of and facilitate as far as possible that the environment is the most comfortable for the child and that can be expressed. Things we can do to help the child overcome a trauma:

-

Serve as an example.

Children learn by observation and imitation to face things. Parents are the main model and can create situations in which the child observes behaviors or strategies to face a problem. - Value the positive skills and achievements of the little ones. The child will gain in security and the fear of rejection, which is one of the most common traumas that occur from childhood, can be fought.

- It is important that the child feels loved and listened to . It is fundamental that the environment of the child works in a good bond of attachment. Thanks to this we can fight another very common trauma that is the fear of abandonment.

-Teach the child to forgive

, to be sure of himself. Thanks to this, the grudge is separated from the child's life and there will be no reason for the child to develop defense mechanisms that prevent him from relating to others.