What can be done to prevent adverse childhood experiences?
The childhoods of an increasing number of children and young people are marred by poverty, violence, parental separation, dysfunctional home environments, homelessness and discrimination. Adverse childhood experiences can affect physical health, well-being and behaviour during childhood and beyond. Children’s nurses expect to support children with adverse childhood experiences, but to get true change systematic societal change is needed. These changes include addressing health, economic and gender inequalities, and discrimination
Children’s nurses support children with adverse childhood experiences but to get to the root of the problem radical societal change is needed
I don’t take my childhood for granted. However, as a child, I probably did not think too deeply about the security, love and stability that encompassed me. When something bad happened, I knew that as a family, we would get through it together. Typically, the stories I tell about my childhood are happy ones.
However, the childhoods of an increasing number of children and young people are marred by poverty, violence, parental separation, dysfunctional home environments, homelessness and discrimination.
There is clear and increasing evidence that these intensive stressors (known as adverse childhood experiences) can affect physical health, well-being and behaviour during childhood and across their whole life course.
Such impacts include educational underachievement, poor mental health and health-harming behaviours. These impacts can be multi-generational. Beyond the impact on the individual there are major societal costs.
Systematic change in health, economic and gender inequalities as well as discrimination is needed
Although interventions can be used to address the needs of children and adults who have lived through adverse childhood experiences, they are often too little and too late.
Prevention is required. Systematic changes at all levels in society need to occur. These changes include addressing health, economic and gender inequalities, and discrimination.
‘We need to help ensure that children, young people and adults can tell good stories about their childhood’
Many of the children and young people nursing staff care for will have been exposed to at least one adverse childhood experience. These experiences shape the stories they tell about their childhoods.
As children’s nurses we are responsible for understanding the impacts of such experiences and knowing how we can support children, but we also need to advocate for societal change to prevent exposure to such toxic stressors.
Change is always challenging but by working together, through networks, associations and communities, change is possible. We need to help ensure that children, young people and adults can tell good stories about their childhood.
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