ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an overview of a core principle, the need to intentionally Promote Coping, Resilience and Healing and the factors that support these outcomes for children and adults. The authors detail several factors that support parents’ and families’ capacities to cope, heal and build resilience: for example, supporting family-to-family activities and other social networking opportunities to foster a sense of community for families within early learning programs, and connecting families to the larger community to strengthen their access to supports and resources. Several inspiring examples are provided highlighting how early learning programs are bringing this core principle to life in their work with parents and families. The chapter ends with highlighting the application of several Trauma-Responsive Family Engagement Principles to revising the language in an Early Childhood Program’s Parent Handbook. Reinforcing how the words we choose to use send important messages to parents and families, the authors share several examples of revising a parent handbook to better reflect the goals and values of a trauma-responsive approach in early childhood.
