My mom died when I was 10, and for a while people in our small village would look at my sister and me as if we were 'special' in some weird way. By the time I was a young adult that was just one of a stew of difficult experiences I'd had, and I also realized: my stuff is not special.
By that age, most people are carrying around some kind of trauma.
But so what? Does it matter? If our mental health is
good enough, does it help to wallow around in all the stuff that's in the past?
In this episode we talk with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, who has pioneered the connections between these kinds of Adverse Childhood Experiences and medical care for children, as well as Jackie Thu-Huong Wong, Executive Director of First 5 California.
We'll learn:
- What is an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE);
- How ACEs can influence not only our physical but our mental health as well;
- What we know about the protective effects of relationships with caring adults
- Dr. Burke Harris' opinions of the 'best' authoritative parenting style;
- A new feature in our episodes: mild, medium, and spicy options for parents who want to dip their toe into the water on this topic, or dive more deeply.
Ready to break free from the cycle of triggered reactions and conflict in your parenting journey?
If you want to:
😟 Be triggered less often by your child’s behavior,
😐 React from a place of compassion and empathy instead of anger and frustration,
😊 Respond to your child from a place that’s aligned with your values rather than reacting in the heat of the moment,
the Taming Your Triggers workshop will help you make this shift.
Join us to transform conflict into connection and reclaim peace in your parenting journey.
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Other episode mentioned:
148: Is spanking a child really so bad?
Jump to highlights
01:26 Introducing today’s topic and guests
04:20 Clarifying the concept of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their origin
06:37 Discussing how Dr. Burke Harris’s research expanded the understanding of ACEs beyond family-focused indicators
10:05 Exploring the paradox of declining death rates and the ongoing prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
13:08 Highlighting the Stronger Starts campaign and the four key interventions (Four Be’s)
19:45 Limited resources pose overwhelming challenges for families, impacting decisions between staying in harmful situations and seeking help
22:39 Questioning the correlational nature of ACEs data
31:53 Addressing intergenerational trauma, the concern is raised for parents struggling with the transmission of intergenerational trauma
37:08 A listener, reflecting on childhood experiences and societal norms of good parenting, raises a question about Dr. Diana Baumrind's work
38:40 Emphasizing the Stronger Starts campaign's reliance on current research, evolving scientific understanding is paralleled with historical shifts (evident in changing perspectives on corporal punishment)
46:18 Wrapping up the discussion with three engagement options (mild, medium, spicy)
Resources
References
Anda, R.F., Porter, L.E., & Brown, D.W. (2020). Inside the Adverse Childhood Experience score: Strengths, limitations, and misapplications. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 59(2), 293-295.
Baldwin, J.R., Caspi, A., Meehan, A.J., Ambler, A., Arseneault, L., Fisher, H.L., Harrington, H., Matthews, T., Odgers, C.L., Poulton, R. and Ramrakha, S. (2021). Population vs individual prediction of poor health from results of adverse childhood experiences screening. JAMA Pediatrics,
175(4), 385-393.
Boparai, S.K.P., Au, V., Koita, K., Oh, D.L., Briner, S., Burke Harris, NB., & Bucci, M. (2018). Child Abuse & Neglect 81, 82-105.
Briggs, E., Amaya-Jackson, L., Putnam, K.T., & Putnam, F.W. (2021). All adverse childhood experiences are not equal: The contribution of synergy to Adverse Childhood Experience scores. American Psychologist 76(2), 243.
Burke Harris, N. (2018). The deepest well: Healing the long-term effects of childhood adversity. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. [Note: the book was republished also in 2018 under the title: Toxic childhood stress: The legacy of early trauma and how to heal.]
Camacho, S., & Henderson, S.C. (2022). The social determinants of Adverse Childhood Experiences: An intersectional analysis of place, access to resources, and compounding effects.
Carlson, S., Borrell, L.N., Eng, C., Nguyen, M., Thyne, S., LeNoir, M.A., Burke-Harris, N., Burchard, E.G., & Thakur, N. (2017). Self-reported racial/ethnic discrimination and bronchodilator response in African American youth with asthma. PLoS ONE 12(6), e0179091.
Felitti, V.J., Anda, R.F., Nordenberg,
