Post 7: What is Early Childhood Trauma?

Early Childhood Trauma is the main topic of my blog. Actually, my first choice was Trauma only because I'm very curious about trauma. Like, why it affects personality, why it doesn't end, and why some are can't overcome it. But my Professor told me that their must be specific trauma I must study that's why I choose about children's trauma because I remember a movie that I've watched, it's title is "Every Child is Special". It's story was a child who have dyslexia that his parents doesn't know about it and acting strangely, so in this topic I will know and we will know why some adults are acting strangely maybe it's because of their childhood days that they've experience some painful memories. And last is because I love children, I am currently a Sunday School teacher, sometimes we noticed some children are hard to pleased and they act strangely from their siblings so it's make me curious about the possibility circumstances that child are going through like Early Childhood Trauma.

The definition of Early Childhood Trauma:
According to the article of Early Childhood Trauma by The National Child Traumatic Stress Network at the website of NCTSN stated that it generally refers to the traumatic experiences that occur to children aged 0-6. Because infants and young children's reaction may be different from older children's, and because they may not be able to verbalize their reactions to threatening or dangerous events.

How this Type of Trauma become unique?
As  with older children, young children experience both behavioural and psychological symptoms associated with trauma. Unlike older children cannot express in words whether they feel afraid, overwhelmed, or helpless. However, behaviours provide us with important clues about how they are affected.

How it Affects Child Development?
According to the article of How Traumatic Events Affects Child Development by Amy Morin from the website of Mom.me state that there are many factors of a child that can be affected like, behaviour,  mood regulation, physical development, cognitive development, attachment and etc. 

In behaviour, most of children are not good in verbalizing their feelings, their behavioural changes often indicate they are struggling to deal with traumatic event. They can be more aggressive, impulsivity, and self destructive behaviour. Mood regulation, traumatic events can affect children's mood and their ability to regulate their emotions. Increased outburst and tantrums to their emotions change quickly. They may developed coping skills to help them survive the repeated trauma that cause them to appear numb to emotions. Physical development, they may become hypersensitive to physical contact, some kids who have been reported traumatized most of them have somatic symptoms such as stomach ache and headaches. Cognitive development, children can experience learning difficulties and their speech and language may be delayed. Attachment, traumatized kids may become frightened of being separated with mother or nanny and tend to be over clingy. And they may isolate themselves and have difficulty asking adults for help. 

It's true that children are hard to express their feelings and sometimes we can't notice that this children are sufferings from trauma or psychological disorder. Because most of adults believe that they're too young to understand. However, young children are affected by traumatic events, even though they  may not understand what happened. And some believe that children can forget it if they'll play with friends and toys but what people don't know that their still remaining painful memories in child's memory though they may forget it but they still can remember it.

I have read a story of unknown 35 years old women from the website of Mental Help. She have an abusive alcoholic father and she always witness her father beaten her mother. After 10 years her father gave up in drinking alcohol but it was the beginning of her nightmare because she sexually abused by her father and later she found out that her father abused also her sister. Now, she's always have emotional and anger problems and whenever she was alone , she always remember the specific incident of the abuse, then it throws her into a deep feelings and sadness of loss. As a result of that experience, she really hate to be upset in front of other people. When she told her experience to her husband, it doesn't understand of her husband. The moment her husband knew it, her husband is like full of anger and pushing her away. 

She said until now she's like a scared little girl hiding in the closet or under the bed to escape her father. Whenever she was presented in challenges, she run away and hide from it.

"It feels like ruining my life and my marriage" stated by Unknown 35 years old woman.