Module 5 addresses the impact of trauma and loss in children. Many people, including children from an early age, have experienced difficult life events. At times children may have felt scared, lost, abandoned or unloved. Maybe they have lost a parent or caregiver through death or separation. Maybe they have witnessed violence or been involved in violence themselves.
These feelings may result in a reaction called "traumatic stress". What is most important for parents and carers, is to understand a child's behaviour in the context of potential triggers and to have strategies for supporting the child. Sometimes children blame themselves or believe that they are responsible for what has happened to them. This feeling of shame places a large burden on children and therefore understanding shame and having strategies to change feelings of shame are discussed in this module.