Stress, Kids & Families–What to Know!
Stress Happens! And when it does we have a lot of power to claim our calm and rebalance with ease.
Children and teens feel stress, just as much as adults. Adults may worry about finances and adult relationships. Youth may worry about school expectations and peer friendships.
What causes us stress isn’t as important as understanding that the intensity of the feelings and physical toll stress can have are common, regardless of age. We all have stress hormones that get set off when we feel or perceive danger. Danger can be physical, social, emotional or other ways, too. The real or perceived threats activate our bodies’ nervous system. We feel stress and anxiety.
If there is high stress within the family dynamics or neighborhoods children pick up on those cues. They perceive danger or unease. They also have their own stressors, while caring about those of their parents and caretakers. As a matter of fact, babies growing inside a womb get the direct dose of stress hormones that momma is experiencing and this can make children more highly sensitive to stress hormones across their lifetime.
Encountering a child’s claim of stress, should be met with compassion and understanding. Tell kids you care. Tell them that stress is a normal part of life, but that coming to trusted adults is important. They don’t need to manage it alone. As a matter of fact, stress runs on a continuum from positive to toxic. Positive stress motivates us to pay the bill, make the call to apologize, or to get our homework done. Moderate stress is buffered by support and caring relationships and we have time to recover. Toxic stress is frequent and lacks social supports or the buffering from caring, trusted relationships. Toxic stress can make us ill.
Aim to become the best trusted adult for the kids in your life and give them access to other caring, trusted adults—because sometimes, even when we are trust-worthy, a child needs a different adult to go to for certain issues.
Model and offer healthy coping strategies, like breathing exercises, creative outlets like coloring or crafts, a walk or fun physical activity, a long 20 plus second hug, sitting quietly with good posture and humming a favorite tune. There are lots of healthy ways to claim our calm and teach kids along the way.
As an adult, how we model coping with stress matters. It is important not to associate your stress with behaviors such as use of substances (alcohol, nicotine products, cannabis) or yelling, arguing or driving mad. Kids will learn from us. Instead, we can use techniques to help us rebalance stress with ease in our lives, to activate our biological systems for calming.
This fall you can learn more about youth mental wellbeing and how to bring more ease to your life.
- September 12 at 4 to 7 p.m. to see the school-based training and from 7 to 8 p.m. to learn the prevention science behind the curriculum. M.A.D. H.O.P.E. Youth Mental Wellbeing and Suicide Prevention Training. Free
- Register at: Online Google Doc
- October 4, 18 and November 1: Power of Ease from 3 to 5 p.m. Attend all three sessions. $60
- Learn how to activate your body’s calming power for emotional self-regulation and co-regulation.
- Register at www.wfcn.org/events
For more information email info@wfcn.org or call 360-738-1196.
WFCN Summer Programming
Save The Dates! Lay a foundation of resilience and hope beneath your awareness of community concerns for children, youth and families in your community. WFCN offers a series of
trauma-informed community trainings designed for adults who are caring for children—at home, in the community or through work. All three courses will be offered in October 2024. Register soon and www.wfcn.org/events
Power of Connection: October 22 and 23 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom.
Attend both sessions to learn what research tells us about why toxic stress matters and how understanding neurobiology, epigenetics, adverse childhood experiences, positive childhood
experiences, resilience and hope can mitigate impacts. $40 per two-session series.
Power of Hope: October 15 from 3 to 5 p.m. via Zoom.
Learn how hope is the most reliable predictor of thriving in the lives of individuals, families, schools, organizations, neighborhoods and other communities. Hope is measurable and it can be
learned. This two hour session allows you to measure your own hope, understand the principles and elements of hope and tools to help you be a hope giver! Free. Funding from Whatcom County Health & Community Services supports this work.
Power of Ease: October 4: 18 and November 1:
Attend all three sessions to gain knowledge and skill- building to activate your parasympathetic system in order to claim your calm, restore balance to stress cycles, and lend your calm to others when stress takes hold.
$50 per series or $20 per session.
- The next Columbia Valley Community Connections Gathering (CVCC) meets in September. The date is to be determined as of this writing in mid-July, but announcements for it will be shared on the EWRRC website at https://www.oppco.org/ewrrc/ and via Next Door Kendall. Please keep an eye out or email Kristi.Slette@wfcn.org to be added to the email invitation list.
CVCC’s purpose is to be a welcoming place where all can gather and connect to build a stronger
community. Our shared commitment is to support communication and local leadership. We work together to turn vision into reality, provide solutions to challenges, promote imaginative & inclusive activities, and create a more engaged, resilient community for all.
Convening partners include Mount Baker School District, Whatcom County Health and Community
Services, Mount Baker Community Coalition, Opportunity Council, Whatcom Family
& Community Network and community residents.
You and others are invited!
Power of Connection: Why toxic stress, resilience, hope
matter
Join us on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 23 & 24 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to learn how resilience,
hope and positive childhood experiences mitigate the impact of toxic stress and childhood trauma. This community training is open to anyone 14 years and older. Youth and family serving agency staff, parents, child-caregivers, educators, government services professionals and business owners can benefit from the information shared in this 4-hour training. Cost is $60 per person. Limited
scholarships are available depending on need and availability. To register visit www.wfcn.org/events or for more information contact info@wfcn.org.
Columbia Valley Communications Gathering Takes Summer Sabbatical
The Columbia Valley Community Connections (CVCC) Gathering will not meet in July or August 2024. The gathering will convene again in September and will seek input from residents and service providers about the frequency, dates and times of gathering in the new academic year.
Haven’t heard of the CVCC? We’ve been meeting monthly at the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center since 2016. All residents of the Columbia Valley Urban Grow Area are welcome as are all social, health and community services representatives who provide services in the area.
Our purpose is to be a welcoming place where we can gather and connect to build a strong community. Our shared commitment is to support communication and local leadership. We work together to turn vision into reality, provide solutions to challenges, promote imaginative and
inclusive activities and create a more engaged, resilient community for all.
Convening partners include Carl McDaniel of Columbia Valley, Mount Baker Community Coalition,
Mount Baker School District, Whatcom County Health & Community Services, The Opportunity Council/East Whatcom Regional Resource Center Staff, and Whatcom Family & Community Network,
For more information contact Kristi.Slette@wfcn.org