It Takes a Village – Exploring the Response to Trauma in the Early Years and School Age Community
Rosie and Catriona attended this conference on 25th October 2023. Hosted by Waterford Childcare Committee and SETU, the conference delivered a comprehensive introduction to trauma informed practice, intergenerational trauma and how we as professionals can be ‘trauma sensitive’ in our work with children and families, and the use of meditation, movement and breathwork in regulation and grounding.

The main takeaways were:

  • ‘Curious not furious – be curious as to why a child presents in a certain way’
  • Cork City Council has a free online Trauma Training course, supporting their status as a Trauma Sensitive City, which can be accessed here
  • Moving and breathing help to regulate
  • ‘aspect shift – using a different lens to look at a person’
  • Wavetrust website for information on ACES
  • Zero to Three website for a range of information on supporting babies and toddlers to reach their full potential
  • Children need a ‘Key person’ to provide psychological safety and social buffering
  • Self Regulation is putting time and thought before a reaction
  • Co – Regulation is using support from relationships (social buffering)
  • In our work we need to consider how and why we are triggered by the parents we meet
  • ‘Show up, Often, in Little Ways’
  • We need to move towards the positive energy in life
  • The importance of self-care. Consider what is the next thing I can do for me – be realistic, commit, do it, review and REPEAT

Excellent presentations on the day were from Dr. Judith Butler, MTU; Sharon Byrne, Young Ballymun; Jennifer Hayes, HSE; Aodan Enright, Edelina Group.

Follow-Up Training
Waterford CC and Pepi will host a follow-up webinar on 31st January, ‘Healing Trauma in Children’, which will demonstrate how to use the Trauma Picture Book to support refugee children to alleviate trauma. Places can be booked at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/healing-trauma-in-children-tickets-776192301067