Positive childhood experiences are closely related to CSSP’s Strengthening Families protective factors framework, as Cailin O’Connor explained in a recent blog post. Parents who have the support they need to be strong in their protective factors can give their children more of the positive experiences we know they need, even in times of stress. See our Strengthening Families resources for parents and providers about building resilience and other protective factors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, as families navigate this back-to-school season like no other, CSSP Senior Fellow Robert Sege, MD, PhD shares some advice for ensuring that children have the kinds of positive experiences that have been shown to lead to better lifelong health and well-being.
This past spring, we began blogging about ways to look at the world from a child’s eyes, in order to make sure they’re having the positive childhood experiences that they need to grow and be healthy, even in the face of disruption and adversity. In the six months or so that we have been experiencing the pandemic, the HOPE team has seen and heard many stories from around the country of families that are doing just that.
Now, as the school year starts, and—in many parts of the country—the economy is starting to sputter back, we face a new set of challenges. Today’s blog will continue to focus on how our children experience the world amidst these new challenges, even as we adults are experiencing our own anxieties and hardships. Children should never feel that they burden their parents, families, and communities. Like adults, they are experiencing enormous disruptions in their own lives.
Read Dr. Sege’s post on the Health Outcomes of Positive Experiences blog, here.