The Way A Child Is Affected by Trauma

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Every child is different and will be affected differently and at different times to a traumatic event. How deeply a child feels the effects will also vary. The patterns of behaviors that a child develops may manifest in multiple ways. Sometimes culture plays a part and sometimes the age of the child makes a difference.

A loss of trust may be the first change in behavior of the traumatized child. It is also common for the child to exhibit feelings of fear that it will happen all over again. Certain children are more susceptible because they feel more intensely. Those who already have existing emotional issues will be affected in a more serious way. For instance, those who have already been traumatized will have a deeper reaction.

Ways that children under the age of five may react:
Watch the way the child moves as they may start just wandering without purpose or stop moving at all. They may start a lot of trembling or whining and crying softly for no reason. They may do the opposite and do a lot of screaming and out of control crying. The most common is the clingy behavior to the person who is with them the most. Their face may express fear or they may revert habits they had when they were much younger like wetting the bed, being afraid of the dark and sucking their thumb. How the parent or caregiver reacts to the behaviors of the child will either strengthen or lessen the new behaviors.

Ways that children between the ages of 6 and 11 may react:
A child in this age range will have many different ways of responding to trauma. They may experience problems with sleep, having nightmares or other issues. Their behavior may change to being one of a disruptive or irritable child where they had not been like this prior to the incident of the trauma. Watch out for the child who will keep themselves away from others and be very quiet when with those they should trust like teachers, family and friends. The opposite can happen with temper tantrums or starting a lot of fights. Some children may refuse to go to school or show problems with concentrating. They might be afraid of things for no reason or become guilt ridden, depressed or emotionally repressed. A child who once did well in school becomes a poor student or can even develop physical problems that have no basis.

Ways that adolescents between the age of 12 and 17 may react:
Just like the small child, adolescents will have different ways of responding to trauma. They may be unable to talk about or even think about the traumatic happening. Some will seek comfort in using tobacco or even turn to alcohol or drug abuse. Some will have the opposite reaction and keep reliving the trauma in their minds and/or experiencing nightmares or other sleep issues. A behavior change may happen where the adolescent becomes belligerent, destructive, disrespectful and unable to socialize. Some develop physical problems. Some adolescents suffer confusion or depression to the point of having images of suicide. Some have thoughts of guilt that the trauma happened and they did nothing to stop it or to prevent others from dying and may even consider getting revenge.