Feb 9, 2018, New Hope, MN, Sun Post: City hosts ‘Stress of Parenting’ event https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_post/city-hosts-stress-of-parenting-event/article_0b333ebc-0d07-11e8-9c90-9bb4beed0486.html The city of Brooklyn Center and the Brooklyn Center Community Schools District jointly presented “The Stress of Parenting: A Look at Mental Health in Adolescents” hosted by psychotherapist and behavioral health consultant Brandon Jones Jan. 31. The presentation was aimed to begin a dialogue between community members on trauma and toxic stress, two factors that affect teens’ psychological growth. Jones began the discussion by saying his goal was not to shame parents but to provide context for what attendees’ teenagers may be going through. As part of his introduction, he asked parents in attendance what issues their teens typically face each day. … Trauma, according to Jones, is an emotional wound that persists over time. It happens unexpectedly, quickly and often. Jones then presented what he called the Adverse Childhood Experiences Pyramid. At the bottom of this pyramid lies adverse experiences, which include toxic environments in the home. This leads to disrupted neurological development, which then moves into poor social and cognitive development. The next tier is adoption of risky behaviors such as drugs, premature sexual activity and drinking. Teen years are when an individual is likely to pick up on addictive behavior. The end result, at the top of the pyramid, is an increased probability of premature death. … Jones said many of his behavioral health clients used substances to deal with their problems. Some kids even bully others in order to cope. “Hurt people hurt people,” he said. “Bullies and the bullied experience trauma.” Toxic stress Jones then moved to discuss how toxic stress and trauma affect the brain and its development, saying these issues affect development to the point that teens feel the pain of their childhood trauma into adulthood…. “You don’t want your child going through trauma,” Jones said. “Most young people deal with stress through violence. They act out. Violence is split into two ways: hard and soft violence.” Soft violence involves verbal altercations and emotional abuse between peers. This can often escalate into hard violence, which involves the obvious: shoving, fist fights and bringing weapons to school. …

Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.