"Verbal First Aid"

Now that the family reunion is over, I'm taking a day of rest. My goal is to edit my Michigan photos and get them posted (then I can start working on the family reunion pics and post them too...), but I'm getting around to that goal slowly because I'm TIRED!  And because I got distracted reading emails, including this article that my mom emailed to me called Verbal First Aid: Healing Children's Pain and Fear with Words by Judith Acosta.  I found it quite interesting and wanted to share. I wouldn't mind reading Acosta's book once I get through Raising Your Spirited Child and also Raising a Daughter (both of which I'm about a quarter of the way into).

Here are some takeaways from the Verbal First Aid article:

"The research on attachment and child development has been showing that this sensitivity is more than "emotional" in the colloquial sense. It is neurologic. What babies feel becomes the fuel for synaptic hard-wiring. Their brains are formed by their experiences, not just by their genetics. Those experiences are mostly dependent on the nature of their relationships with those around them."

"That is not something any of us are born with. Children need adults to regulate their emotional arousal so that a traumatic event (a nightmare, a fall, an illness) is encoded in a way that promotes a healthy concept of themselves and their ability to survive. What this means is that emotion and healthy thinking have to occur at the same time so that the brain (or neural net, as attachment experts are calling it) is wired for safety.

"Verbal First Aid is a way of using ordinary language to facilitate these processes in children so that those experiences are embedded in the healthiest way possible."

I think I'll close my eyes for the last few minutes of Hannah's morning nap....A fun time photo dump is on it's way, promise....