Children and families have undoubtedly been impacted by an array of extraordinarily challenging events and circumstances in the four years since the initial COVID lockdown. What do we need to know to help young people navigate a world of ongoing adversities, while continuing to recover from traumatic and stressful events of the past?
Former California Surgeon General, pediatrician, and author of The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, has long championed for childhoods that set us up for lifelong good health and well-being – and now, she’s working with ACE Resource Network to ensure hope for a generation of kids raised in seriously stressful times. For more information, visit numberstory.org
Former California Surgeon General, pediatrician, and author of The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, has long championed for childhoods that set us up for lifelong good health and well-being – and now, she’s working with ACE Resource Network to ensure hope for a generation of kids raised in seriously stressful times. For more information, visit numberstory.org
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 - The following portion of the Arizona Daily Mix is sponsored on behalf of Ace Resource
00:06 Network by Gorvitz Communications.
00:13 - How can we help kids be healthy and thrive even in seriously stressed times?
00:18 Well I talked with former California Surgeon General and author, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris,
00:23 on how we can help kids deal with the stress in their life.
00:29 Good morning Dr. Burke Harris, how are you?
00:32 - I'm very well, thank you.
00:34 - Good, I'm so glad we're talking about this topic 'cause it is something that's very important
00:39 in our kids' life and that is understanding how stress impacts the kids and how to deal
00:44 with it.
00:45 So what are some things we need to understand when it comes to our kids and stress?
00:50 - Well I think that for a lot of us we recognize that stress can affect our kids' mental health
00:55 and it's true.
00:57 Globally we saw kids' depression and anxiety double during the pandemic.
01:02 But the thing that fewer of us recognize is that stress can affect kids' health, right?
01:09 So when we experience stress it releases stress hormones and for kids those stress hormones
01:18 can affect the way kids' brains develop, the way their hormones develop, the way their
01:22 immune system functions and it can lead to something called the toxic stress response.
01:28 And with that we see increased risk of things like asthma, diabetes, increased risk of depression,
01:36 learning disorders and over the long term without intervention it can increase risk
01:42 for things like heart disease or even cancer.
01:45 - Yeah, wow, it's so amazing how that is playing a big part right now.
01:50 So how can we help protect of course kids from the toxic stress that they're seeing?
01:57 - Well what the research shows is that safe, stable and nurturing relationships and environments
02:04 are healing for kids, right?
02:06 They actually help to shut off the stress response which is really important.
02:14 But when we think about the fact that most of us as adults have experienced our own adverse
02:21 childhood experiences, then when we are trying to be there for our kids it's actually really
02:29 important that we have addressed our own adversity, right?
02:34 So whether that is through mental health which we know makes an important difference, regular
02:39 exercise, things like mindfulness, spending time in nature, all of these things are really
02:45 important for our kids to help them regulate their stress response but they're equally
02:50 important for us so that we can be on the even keel so we can be there for our kids.
02:58 - Yeah, you said something very important and that is as parents setting the example
03:03 and you mentioned about getting out into the wilderness and to find areas to help us with
03:08 our stress are so important there.
03:10 What else would you like people to know that could help us with dealing with our kids and
03:14 the stress together?
03:16 - One of the most important things I think for people to understand is that when we're
03:22 addressing this issue, an every family for themselves approach is not enough.
03:28 In Arizona alone, the cost of adverse childhood experiences in healthcare costs and lost productivity
03:36 is $292 billion per year according to a new study that was just released by the CDC.
03:45 So what that is telling us is that yes, we have to be doing these things in our household
03:52 but we also have to make sure that we're doing the early detection, early intervention and
03:57 making sure that families have access to the services like mental health, like safe places
04:04 for kids to play.
04:07 All of these things are really important that we respond on a society-wide level so that
04:13 we can break these intergenerational cycles.
04:17 - Yeah, it's about listening, paying attention and realizing that the kids' stress today
04:22 is not like the stress that we had when we were growing up.
04:24 It's a lot different and that's why we need to listen and of course do the things that
04:29 are going to benefit our kids and ourselves as parents.
04:32 It's so important.
04:33 Dr. Burke Harris, where can we find more information?
04:36 - Well, I wrote a book about it, "The Deepest Well, Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood
04:42 Adversity."
04:43 Folks can also go to numberstory.org and if you're concerned about your child's health,
04:48 talk to your child's doctor.
04:49 - I love it.
04:50 Doctor, thank you very much for joining us.
04:53 - My pleasure, thanks for having me.
04:57 - The preceding portion of the Arizona Daily Mix was sponsored on behalf of Ace Resource
05:01 Network by Gorvitz Communications.
05:03 - Thank you.
05:04 - Thank you.
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