Children who have experienced trauma may have triggers that set off challenging behaviors. They need support from healthy adults to work through these challenges successfully. There is no one way to parent every child but providing safety and support by using the Three Rs (Regulate, Relate, and Reason) can help. When a child is triggered, the child’s intense emotion and challenging behaviors may trigger the parent as well. It is important for the parent to be aware of this and to regulate their emotions and responses. This emotional co-regulation will help calm the child and de-escalate challenging situations. It’s important to remember that parenting will bring successes as well as challenges. You need to plan for the challenges and to celebrate the successes!

• Identify trauma-informed strategies/parenting techniques for responding to behaviors children may exhibit.
• Explain the impact trauma can have on attachment and relationship development.
• Recognize the reasons that parents who are fostering or adopting need to manage their own anger, avoid reactive behavior, and increase their empathy.
• Describe the reasons that Trauma-Informed Parenting techniques work more effectively with children who have experienced separation, loss ,and other forms of trauma.
• Describe the difference between discipline and punishment

• Willing to take the time and effort needed to develop new parenting skills to successfully parent children with a history of trauma/loss.
• Committed to the idea of putting relationship-building first and willing to self-reflect and address what could be in the way of that.
• Accepts the idea that parenting is an opportunity for learning, teaching, and connecting.

• Understand how to use the 3 R’s when parenting.