Negative experiences can disrupt a child’s sense of safety and security. These negative experiences in childhood are sometimes referred to as child trauma. Research suggests more than two-thirds of children report experiencing at least one traumatic event by age 16.^1 Examples of these experiences can include events that happen once, like the death of a loved one, parental separation or divorce, or a serious car accident.^1 They can also include traumatic experiences that occur repeatedly, like physical or emotional abuse, neglect, being bullied, witnessing violence at home or school, or living with someone who has a mental health or substance use disorder.^1 Traumatic experiences can overwhelm a child’s ability to cope with what they have experienced, which can lead to child traumatic stress^2 and long-lasting effects that negatively impact health, well-being, and opportunities in life.^3

Fortunately, children who have experienced traumatic events can recover and flourish. Creating safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for children can buffer against the effects of negative experiences and help children thrive.^4 As a parent or someone in a parenting role, your support and guidance matters greatly. Learning about child trauma and how it can affect your child will help you support them. It will help your child feel safe and manage their strong and sometimes overwhelming feelings and behaviors while building a healthy parent-child relationship.

This document provides an overview of how a child’s brain responds to stress, the impact of child trauma on health and well-being, and reactions to trauma at various stages of child development. This document also provides guidance for what actions you can take to support your child after they have experienced a traumatic event and what you can do to help your child manage challenging behaviors. Finally, as a parent or someone in a parenting role, your child’s trauma affects you as well. While caring for and supporting your child through their difficult moments, it is vital to take care of yourself. Guidance on specific actions to care for yourself with compassion is provided.

Learning how to respond to and manage stress is a normal part of a healthy child development. When a child is exposed to an everyday stressor, their body’s stress response system is activated. For example, meeting a new friend, giving a speech in science class, or learning a new skill like how to ride a bike causes the body’s natural stress response to activate. A stress response generally includes an increased heart rate and a slight elevation in the hormone cortisol.^5 In these situations, the stress response is brief, and the body quickly returns to normal.^5 While the experience might be stressful, a child doesn’t experience any adverse lasting effects.^5These everyday experiences are a typical part of healthy development and necessary for a child to develop a positive stress response system,^5 which they will need throughout their life.

In contrast to everyday experiences that cause a positive or tolerable stress response, some experiences can be traumatic, “meaning they threaten the life or physical integrity of the child or someone significant to the child (such as a parent or those in a parenting role or sibling.).”^6 Traumatic experiences include singular events like a vehicle accident or the death of a loved one.^1 They can also include recurring events like physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or witnessing violence at home or school.^1 Traumatic experiences like these can result in the child experiencing a toxic stress response where the body is on high alert, and the child experiences strong feelings and intense physical reactions.^5 They can experience a fight, flight, or freeze response, which is...