Stress, anxiety, and depression
Anger or frustration
Loneliness and isolation
Feelings of rejection, or poor self-esteem
Changes in sleep and eating patterns
Health complaints
Poor relational skills
School avoidance, including missing or dropping out of school
Poor academic performance
Separation anxiety
Self-injury
Eating disorders
Suicidal or homicidal ideas or actions

Bullying and Trauma

Children or teens who have been exposed to trauma and violence may be more likely to:

The relationship between trauma and bullying is complex. Being bullied can lead to traumatic stress reactions including Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. For example, a 2012 study (Idsoe, Dyregov, & Idsoe, 2012) found that for all students who experienced bullying, 27.6% of boys and 40.5% of girls had PTSD scores within the clinical range. Symptoms were even worse for those students who both bullied others and had been the targets of bullying themselves.

Children who have experienced trauma are more likely to be bullied and to engage in bullying behavior. In some cases, children who experience trauma may develop social or interpersonal difficulties, making them more likely to become targets of bullying. Studies of Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, have found that children who report more ACEs are also more likely to exhibit bullying behavior

School Response Strategy: Students with social/ emotional/ behavioral issues may receive individual or small group counseling support. A behavior plan is created. Accommodations are made to help address and support behaviors of concern. 

Most violence against children involves at least one of six main types of interpersonal violence that tend to occur at different stages in a child’s development.

When directed against girls or boys because of their biological sex or gender identity, any of these types of violence can also constitute gender-based violence.

Violence against children has lifelong impacts on health and well-being of children, families, communities, and nations. Violence against children can:

Violence against children can be prevented. Preventing and responding to violence against children requires that efforts systematically address risk and protective factors at all four interrelated levels of risk (individual, relationship, community, society).

Under the leadership of WHO, a group of 10 international agencies have developed and endorsed an evidence-based technical package called INSPIRE: Seven strategies for ending violence against children. The package aims to help countries and communities achieve SDG Target 16.2 on ending violence against children. Each letter of the word INSPIRE stands for one of the strategies, and most have been shown to have preventive effects across several different types of violence, as well as benefits in areas such as mental health, education and crime reduction.

INSPIRE: Seven strategies for ending violence against children

The seven strategies are:

Source: Global prevalence of past-year violence against children: a systematic review and minimum estimates. Hillis S, Mercy J, Amobi A, Kress H. Pediatrics 2016;.

Whole brain teaching starts with positivity, and when students are not engaged, the teacher assumes the responsibility of providing more time to practice rather than scolding. When students are having fun in their learning, their brain can receive, process, and retain information, serving as a catalyst for learning; a benefit of whole brain teaching.

_{Source: What is whole brain teaching? TeachHUB. (2020, September 11). Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://www.teachhub.com/professional-development/2017/06/all-about-whole-brain-teaching-strategies/} 

• Poor growth or weight gain or being overweight.
• Poor hygiene
• Lack of clothing or supplies to meet physical needs
• Taking food or money without permission
• Hiding food for later.
• Poor record of school attendance.

Response Strategies:

Resource:

Responding to child abuse and neglect. @kaplanco. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2022, from https://www.kaplanco.com/ii/child-abuse-neglect 


*Be mindful of the country you work in. Reporting any abuse in a public manner may put you in danger. Consider reporting the abuse anonymously but with evidence.

In one study, researchers found that pet ownership was common: 87% of the children in the first sample owned a pet at some point in childhood, and 53% of children lost a pet in the first seven years of their lives.

Previous research has found that children form "deep emotional attachments" to pets, researchers wrote, and that "these attachments can resemble secure human attachment relationships in providing several key resources such as affection, protection, and reassurance."¹

Like anyone dealing with a loss, kids usually feel a variety of emotions besides sadness after the death of a pet. They might experience loneliness, anger if the pet was euthanized, frustration that the pet couldn't get better, or guilt about times that they were mean to or didn't care for the pet as promised.²

 Do not trivialize the death of a pet. Children need time and opportunity to mourn. They need their parents to validate their feelings and understand how much they miss their pet, and they may need to miss a day of school or a soccer game. “Grief is appropriate,” Segal says. “It’s how we heal from losses. Your child’s grief is an indicator that your child has learned to love.”

 Suggest different ways to remember the pet. Your child may want to draw pictures of the pet, make a scrapbook, or create a memory box. 

 
Read age-appropriate children’s books that deal with pet death. There are many options, including the classic Dog Heaven, by Cynthia Rylant; the tender and touching Murphy and Kate by Ellen Howard; and I’ll Always Love You, by Hans Wilhelm.

 
Let your child know it’s okay to talk about death and about the pet. If the mention of death makes you upset, your child may avoid the topic and hold his feelings in. Let your child know death is a part of life and that it’s okay to talk about it. Let him know he can talk about his beloved pet, and share your favorite happy memories of the pet with him.³

 

1.https://www.verywellmind.com/the-loss-of-a-pet-could-trigger-mental-health-issues-in-children-5082123 

But many kids seem to bounce back faster and adapt to the new situation. Others, however unlike other kids never really seem to go back to “normal.” This small percentage of children may experience ongoing—possibly even lifelong—problems after their parents’ divorce.

1- Emotional Impact of Divorce: Divorces create an emotional disturbance for a whole family, but for kids, the situation could be much more complicated as it can be confusing and frustrating. 

Young children may find it hard to understand why they have to go between two homes. They may worry if their parents can stop loving them. Grade school children may worry that divorce could be their fault they misbehaved or may assume they did something wrong. Teenagers may become very angry about the divorce and the changes it creates. They may blame the parents and be angry with them

2- Divorce-Related Stress:  Divorce of parents creates less daily contact with one parent which is most often the father. Decreased contact affects the parent-child bond accordingly researchers have found that may feel less close to their father after divorce  

The most difficult part about divorce for children is the change of their daily routines such as changing schools, moving to a new home, and living with a single parent instead of living as a whole family, besides if there is a financial hardship from one of the parents and the other parent is not very supportive, therefore this could affect the lifestyle of a child which harms his feelings. 

3-Poor Performance in Academics: The sudden changes are very difficult for all members of the family. Children could be very sensitive due to being very confused and easily get distracted. Their attention and focus in school could be highly affected, since passing through all the experience between seeing the conflicts at home between their parents before they get a divorce is a huge mental stress on children. The more distracted children are, the more likely they are not able to focus on their school work. Divorce may increase the risk of mental health problems in children and adolescents and studies have shown depression and anxiety rates are higher in children from divorced parents.

4-Loss of Interest in social Activity: Children gets affected by the divorce socially, and their parents who are going through a divorce may have a harder time relating to others and tend to have less social contact. Children may feel insecure and wonder if they are the only family who is going through this experience.  

5- ​​Behavior problems: Children may experience more conflict and problems with peers after divorce. They may experience more externalizing problems which means they have problems controlling emotions and impulses and express them with antisocial behavior that often violates the rights of others.

6- Anger/irritability: The stress that the Children encounter during the divorce of their parents, may affect how they respond to the situation of divorce, they may become easily angry and irritable. Children may display anger easily at their parents, themselves, their friends, and others. 

The support of teachers for children who encounter parent divorce helps children feel safe and secure.

How to support students with trauma.

1. Communicate with counselors or social workers. Besides providing specific information about your students, these are great resources for more information about recognizing and understanding the impacts of trauma.

2. Provide structure and consistency. Write the agenda on the board. Use entry and exit routines. When a student knows what to expect, it can help her to feel safe.

3. Ease transitions. Give time warnings ahead of activity transitions (“3 minutes until we switch groups...”). Warn ahead of doing something unexpected, such as turning off the lights or making a loud sound. If possible, prepare students for fire drills.

4. Provide choice. People with trauma history experience a lack of control. Provide safe ways for students to exercise choice and control within an activity and within the environment (choice of seats, choice of book, etc).