Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Early childhood trauma generally refers to the traumatic experiences that occur to children aged 0-6. Because infants' and young children's reactions may be different from older children's, and because they may not be able to verbalize their reactions to threatening or dangerous events, many people assume that young age protects children from the impact of traumatic experiences (Berger, 2016).

 When young children experience or witness a traumatic event like war, sometimes adults say, "They're too young to understand, so it's probably better if we don't talk to them about it." However, young children are affected by traumatic events, even though they may not understand what happened.
In childhood, neurons and neural pathways that get used are strengthened in the brain, whereas those that are not used die out.  The brain is like a muscle.  It requires frequent repetitive use and stimulation – through environmental cues, relationships with family, social engagement and education (Berger, 2016).  Neglect and under-stimulation of children affected by war can lead to severe impairments in the cognitive, physical and psychosocial development of the child, creating a lasting legacy of war. 
This can lead to emotional, cognitive, and behavioral disorders, anxiety and depression, emotional and interpersonal difficulties, and significant learning difficulties.  
I personally was a war survivor; I witnessed several wars while I was a child and a teenager. And sure it did affect my behavior and emotions. I was born and raised in Iraq. I often get to asked questions about my childhood and all I can remember darkness and fear. As a child you don’t realize what’s happing at the moment. When years past and became an adults, I was always anxious and stressed and decided to go and see a psychologist and with many therapy sessions I was able to overcome my fears and anxiety.

It is a common misconception that young children do not understand stressful or violent events and so are not as affected as adults.  But young minds process much more than is often credited. 

Berger, K. S. (2016). The developing person through childhood (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Comments

  1. Natasha FentonFebruary 3, 2018 at 6:39 PM

    After reading your post one thing that stood out to me was the fact that as a child you don't realize what's happening at the moment. I think this is important for people to understand because children may not understand the things that are going on right then but that does not mean they will not remember them. As people get older and are able to process things better they start to understand what was really going on and the trauma that it caused them and their families. I think it is important for people to understand that even though things happen early on in a child life doesn't mean they will not need some kind of help later on in life.

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