After playing and performing Baha’i-inspired music around the world for more than a decade, I’ve heard my fair share of “when are you going to start making music for children?” 

I quickly dismissed the idea every single time, finding excuses like “Isn’t there so much good stuff out there already?” or “I don’t want to move from one box to another, I want to branch out to a wider audience” or “kid’s music is so simple, I want to make music that’s lyrically and melodically ‘sophisticated’ and advanced.”

Then one day, as I sat in a room with my friend and her toddler, some children’s music was playing on YouTube. The melodies I heard were super catchy – a little annoying, but catchy. The lyrics however, were utter and total nonsense. 

As my friend was talking, her voice fell into the background, and all I could hear was “yum yum, breakfast burrito” on repeat. She asked me a question that brought me back into the room. I admitted that I didn’t hear anything she said, and asked her how she found this channel and why she was playing this music for her child. She brushed it off with something like “she likes the music and the beat, and it doesn’t really matter what they’re singing because she’s still learning to talk anyways, and honestly, I’m too tired to look for something specific so I just put on the first thing I could find.”

Her explanation made me think immediately of the Baha’i teachings, especially this quotation from a talk Abdu’l-Baha gave in Washington, DC in 1912:

… The art of music is divine and effective. It is the food of the soul and spirit. Through the power and charm of music the spirit of man is uplifted. It has wonderful sway and effect in the hearts of children, for their hearts are pure and melodies have great influence on them.

I left thinking “Gosh, we musicians need to do better!” hoping that when the time came for my husband and I to start a family, things would be different. I was puzzled by what my friend had said, because while her daughter is learning to talk, wouldn’t that be most critical time to expose her to lyrics and melodies that are both catchy but also purposeful and meaningful? 

As Abdu’l-Baha said, music has so much potential to uplift the spirit. It can also engage the mind. As a musician, I feel that melodies can be catchy while also being enjoyable and engaging, and that lyrics can speak to our intrinsic values, and our higher natures, no matter the audience. I had the feeling that I was not alone in my sentiments. 

When I got home, I went down a deep internet rabbit hole, encountering the vast labyrinth of kid’s music. As I stood at the entrance of this labyrinth, I could see what my friend was talking about. So much content exists out there, making it hard to know where to start. Sure, I found a lot of enjoyable and engaging kid’s songs, but when it came to music with purpose and values, which spoke to the heart and the developing character of a child, possessed uplifting themes, and contributed to meaningful dialogue, I came up with a only a small handful of options. 

I also read a 2016 study conducted at the University of Southern California Brain and Creativity Institute, which found that musical experiences and exposure in early childhood accelerates brain development, advancing intellectual, social-emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy in children.

Once I was able to exit this labyrinth, I reflected on the music I’d heard, the research I’d discovered and Abdu’l-Baha’s words, and I came out feeling like “Baby Shark” and “Yum yum breakfast burrito” just wouldn’t cut it for me. Soon after the visit to my friend’s house, COVID hit, my tours (and the world) were put on pause, and my husband and I learned that a family of our own was on the way. It was time to take matters into our own hands. So naturally, my software engineer/musician husband and I founded our own media company, while I was pregnant! 

We call it Tiny Souls Media. Our mission: to foster positive values and characteristics in children, and nurture their relationships through intentional media. 

As Baha’is and as new parents, we believe in the power of music to influence and transform hearts and minds, particularly in the early stages of a child’s development. As creators, we want to find ways to contribute to the children’s music and values-based educational space, helping tiny souls build a strong moral foundation through both lyrics and melodies. As developers, we want to build resources that are extremely accessible to grown-ups from all walks of life, faiths and backgrounds, engaging them in meaningful conversations about the spiritual and moral education of children.

Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, wrote “Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.” We hope that Tiny Souls Media can help parents of small children polish those gems. Every person is born with intrinsic value, and that education can help us unearth those values.

Undoubtedly, as parents, creators and founders of Tiny Souls Media, we’re deeply inspired by those words of Baha’u’llah, and also by this explanation from the democratically-elected leadership body of the world’s Baha’is, the Universal House of Justice:

Children are the most precious treasure a community can possess, for in them are the promise and guarantee of the future. They bear the seeds of the character of future society which is largely shaped by what the adults constituting the community do or fail to do with respect to children. They are a trust no community can neglect with impunity.

Our children are our most precious treasures, not only because we love them but also because they “bear the seeds of the character of future society …” The result of the future of humanity is largely shaped by the way we grown-ups nurture and foster the values and positive character of our most precious treasures. 

So not only did we want to create songs that spoke to uplifting values and positive characteristics, but we wanted to empower adults with the tools and resources to take the learning one step further, and engage in intentional interactions and meaningful conversations that would internalize these concepts with the little ones in their lives. 

So we created the Tiny Souls App – the first product from Tiny Souls Media.

The Tiny Souls App is a fun, engaging, resourceful, and accessible iOS and Android app, designed to be used by parents, caregivers, and educators as a toolkit, filled with an ever-growing catalog of songs, resources, and interactive media that teach children the necessary life skills to have positive and meaningful relationships with the people and the environment around them. The app explores uplifting themes and characteristics such as truthfulness, justice, courage, helpfulness, generosity, and navigating big feelings. 

We welcome you to check out our website www.tinysoulsmedia.com for more information, listen to sample of some of the Tiny Souls songs here, and join us on Facebook at Instagram @tinysoulsmedia to be part of the Tiny Souls community! 

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As Baha’is, we strive to raise our children to know and love God and contribute to the advancement of a better world. What does that look like in practice? There are many possible answers to that question. 

We — Elham and Lauren — are raising our children to be kind, to show forth sincere and deep compassion for all living beings, and to be champions of justice. For these reasons (and more) we have decided to raise our children as Baha’is and vegans. 

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“Vegan” is coined from taking the first three and last two letters of the word “vegetarian.” Vegans do not consume or use animal products. 

General societal pressure and USDA dietary guidelines advise that children need meat and dairy to thrive, grow strong, and be healthy. It can feel intimidating to go against the status quo. Pediatric wellness visits often involve answering questions about a child’s dairy and meat intake. School lessons on nutrition discuss meat, dairy, and eggs as being good for us. This point of view is still prevalent even though the science is becoming clearer that animal products are detrimental to our health and to the planet’s health.  

We each have three children and have seen them grow strong and healthy on a plant-based diet.

Elham: I recall that when my daughter was five years old, she brought home a food pyramid she made at school, which included meat, dairy, and eggs as daily nutritional needs. I explained to my daughter that we should revise the food pyramid to reflect our beliefs and lifestyle. We removed the pictures of the animal products and replaced them with pictures of plant-based sources of protein and calcium.   

It can also be confusing to our children as they see family and friends consume animal products. 

Lauren: My children have a hard time understanding why people they love are knowingly contributing to suffering. It requires many conversations about how everyone is on their own path, and we love everyone and don’t judge anyone. Once at a family gathering where people were consuming lobsters, my middle child became extremely distressed. She kept screaming and screaming, and when I examined it through her eyes, I realized how traumatizing and grotesque that must have been for her as someone who has never seen animals as food to suddenly see whole lobsters ripped limb from limb and then eaten. I realized then that children have an innate sense of compassion for all living beings and that they have to be conditioned to view only certain animals as worthy of being cared for while others as food. 

Baha’is are not forbidden from eating meat — there are no dietary restrictions in the Baha’i Faith. Our understanding of the Baha’i teachings, however, provides us with continued strength and confirmation in our resolve to be vegan and to raise our children vegan.  

Lauren: When my husband and I first decided to stop eating animal products, it was like a veil was lifted. All of a sudden, I just had an “aha” moment. It was like a light bulb went off and I could no longer see the world the same way. We went vegan overnight and never looked back. I like to credit this to what I have come to call the “trifecta”: the Baha’i teachings, health, and ethics. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so easy if we only had one of those reasons driving us, but with all three it was effortless. 

One of the tenets of the Baha’i Faith is the harmony of science and religion. We both find strength in the Baha’i teachings that focus on science to explain our decision to be vegan. Regarding our teeth and anatomy, the Baha’i writings explain:

The food of man is cereals and fruit. Some of the teeth of man are like millstones to grind the grain, and some are sharp to cut the fruit. Therefore he is not in need of meat, nor is he obliged to eat it. Even without eating meat he would live with the utmost vigour and energy …

In a talk he gave in New York City in 1912, Abdu’l-Baha, the son and designated successor of Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, answered a question about what people who are united will eat:

[T]he teeth of man are not carnivorous. . . The human teeth, the molars, are formed to grind grain. The front teeth, the incisors, are for fruits, etc. It is, therefore, quite apparent according to the implements for eating that man’s food is intended to be grain and not meat.

This guidance in the Baha’i Writings provides us with scientific perspective and confidence as we raise our children vegan. 

The Baha’i Writings explain that it is “better,” “more pleasing,” and “preferable” to avoid killing animals if possible. 

Truly, the killing of animals and the eating of their meat is somewhat contrary to pity and compassion, and if one can content oneself with cereals, fruit, oil and nuts, such as pistachios, almonds and so on, it would undoubtedly be better and more pleasing.

As vegans, we avoid the unnecessary killing of animals and the exploitation of animals to the greatest extent possible and practicable. We teach our children that animals are sentient beings, capable of pain and suffering. In fact, the Baha’i teachings discuss the capacity of animals to suffer and encourage us to be kind to them:

It is not only their fellow human beings that the beloved of God must treat with mercy and compassion, rather must they show forth the utmost loving-kindness to every living creature. For in all physical respects, and where the animal spirit is concerned, the selfsame feelings are shared by animal and man. Man hath not grasped this truth, however, and he believeth that physical sensations are confined to human beings, wherefore is he unjust to the animals, and cruel. And yet in truth, what difference is there when it cometh to physical sensations? The feelings are one and the same, whether ye inflict pain on man or on beast. There is no difference here whatever . . . It is essential that ye show forth the utmost consideration to the animal, and that ye be even kinder to him than to your fellow man.

The Baha’i teachings also tell us to “train your children from their earliest days to be infinitely tender and loving to animals.” 

As we teach our children to show kindness and compassion to all living beings, we also seek to live a lifestyle that aligns with those ideals from the food we eat to the products we use and the entertainment we enjoy. We are on a path of learning and striving, and we make mistakes just like anyone else, but we find that being Baha’i and being vegan are in perfect harmony with one another. 

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The Food of the Future 

The Baha’i teachings explain that human beings are naturally designed to eat plants (not animals) and that, because of this, the food of the future will only be plants. Abdu’l-Baha wrote:

The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten. Medical science is only in its infancy, yet it has shown that our natural diet is that which grows out of the ground. The people will gradually develop up to the condition of this natural food.

Could it be that we are reaching that “time” discussed by Abdul-Baha over 100 years ago? We recognize that there are parts of the world where access to fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains is limited, and therefore, people must consume animal products to survive. However, those places are becoming rare, and many of the poorest communities worldwide consume very little meat simply because it is not cost-effective. 

Medical science is beginning to understand the correlation between consuming animal products and chronic diseases. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the France-based cancer research arm of the World Health Organization, deemed processed meats to be a carcinogen and red meat to be a probable carcinogen. Studies have found that dairy consumption is linked with cognitive decline. Books such as “Eat to Live”, “Fit for Life”, and the “China Study” have linked animal products with cancers, osteoporosis, and heart disease.

We are also facing a climate emergency. In a report released in 2019, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that eating animals is a factor in the climate crisis. The panel encouraged a transition to eating more of a plant-based diet. Thanks to advancements in food science, plant-based alternatives are more widely available such as tofu, tempeh, and plant-based milks. 

We find support and inspiration in the Baha’i teachings to live a vegan lifestyle and raising our children vegan, but it is certainly not without its challenges. The following approaches have been helpful and useful:

• Explaining and communicating with our children early and often that the Baha’i Writings and science support eating a plant-based diet.
• Explaining to our children that not everyone is vegan, just like not everyone is the same religion. Everyone is on their own path, and this is the path that we have chosen. 
• Bringing plant-based food to parties and gatherings. 
• Cultivating empathy and compassion in our children through service projects. 
• Nurturing our children’s innate love and compassion for animals. 
• Educating ourselves on the science behind eating a plant-based diet. 

Ultimately, our children will need to practice the Baha’i principle of the independent investigation of truth and make their own choices. In the meantime, we strive to give them a strong foundation and live our lives by example.

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Taking puberty-blocking drugs has been shown to cause mental health issues in trans children, according to a recent analysis from the University of Essex.

In re-examining the results of a previous study, the U.K. researchers determined that one-third of the youth with gender dysphoria (GD) experienced a decline in mental health after taking triptorelin.

Sold under the brand name Trelstar, triptorelin is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist that reduces the amount of certain hormones in the body.

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The original study, which came from NHS’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at Tavistock and University College London Hospitals (UCLH) in 2021, analyzed 44 children between the ages of 12 and 15 who took puberty-blocking drugs.

Taking puberty-blocking drugs has been shown to cause mental health issues in trans children, according to a recent analysis from the University of Essex.

The children were all deemed “psychologically stable,” but all of them had been classified as having gender dysphoria, with a “high likelihood of extreme psychological distress with ongoing pubertal development,” the study authors wrote in the journal entry discussing the findings.

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At the time, the researchers determined that the drugs had no impact on the kids’ mental health over a 36-month follow-up period.

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The new analysis of the study, however, determined that 34% of the trans youth experienced a decline in mental health while taking puberty blockers.

At the same time, 37% reported no change in mental health and 29% noticed an improvement.

To determine the extent of mental health changes, the researchers looked at emotional factors (anxiety, depression, social withdrawals and somatic complaints) as well as behavioral signals, such as attention problems and aggressive behaviors, according to the researchers. They also analyzed sleep difficulties.

While the original study combined the overall average of all kids’ mental well-being, the new analysis looked at each child’s individual psychological health, which revealed more variation among them.

While the original study combined the overall average of all kids’ mental well-being, the new analysis looked at each child’s individual psychological health, which revealed more variation among them.

“This is the first analysis of U.K. data on children aged 12 to 15 with GD taking puberty blockers demonstrating individual level change as opposed to testing differences between group averages,” the study authors wrote in a journal entry describing the findings. “As such, this analysis gives a fuller picture of the benefits and risks of treatment.”

“We recommend that these approaches be incorporated into new gender dysphoria services being established in the U.K., as well as new research studies being designed,” they added.

The new analysis was posted to medRxiv, a preprint service for health studies, but has not yet been peer-reviewed.

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The study did have some limitations. It included a small sample size of youth and there was no control group. There was also a limited dataset available for the children who were studied.

Also, the results show association but not necessarily causation, as there may have been other factors that could have affected the children’s mental health.

Sold under the brand name Trelstar, triptorelin is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist that reduces the amount of certain hormones in the body.

A spokesperson from Tavistock and Portman Trust, which conducted the original study, provided the following statement to the Daily Mail:

“We are grateful to all of the clinicians and academics who have contributed to this study over the years, and we welcome new peer-reviewed analyses of the evidence around how to support these young people.”

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“The analysis plan for the original study was independently produced by experts in medical statistics, and the underlying data was published so that other researchers might conduct further analyses.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Tavistock and Portman Trust for further comment.

Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity expert, was not involved in either of the studies, but shared with Fox News Digital that he was not surprised by the impact of puberty blockers on kids’ mental health.

Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity expert, noted that “the human brain — and in particular the developing brain — is particularly sensitive to and reliant on circulating hormone levels to function optimally.”

“The human brain — and in particular the developing brain — is particularly sensitive to and reliant on circulating hormone levels to function optimally,” said Osborn.

Sex hormones like testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone — the ones that were suppressed in the study population using triptorelin — also play a major role in mood regulation and cognition, the doctor noted.

“Optimal progesterone levels are also important for sleep, whereas low levels are associated with insomnia and mood lability (mood swings),” Osborn said.

Additionally, estrogen levels affect neurotransmitters in the mood centers of the brain, thus impacting emotional experiences, the doctor noted.

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“Estrogen also plays a central role in cognition and our sense of general well-being — for both men and women,” Osborn said. “Men and women need progesterone and estrogen for optimal brain development and function.”

Testosterone is also largely responsible for mood and well-being, the doctor went on — and a lack of it can lead to fatigue, irritability and poor sleep hygiene.

“Bottom line? Not only our bodies, but our brains, function best with optimal hormone levels,” Osborn concluded.

“Lowering their levels artificially with medications like triptorelin is potentially dangerous and only contributing to the escalating mental health burden in America.”

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health. 

Original article source: Trans children who took puberty-blocking drugs had mental health issues, UK study found

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Childhood can be hard even in the best of times. Children are inherently at a power disadvantage, still learning how to manage their emotions, and at the will of adults for food, shelter, and emotional regulation. Frustration, failure, and conflict are unavoidable, but not necessarily bad for children in the long run.

But children today face some uniquely difficult conditions, from school shootings (or the threat of them), to the looming threat of climate change, to the pandemic uprooting their sense of structure, control, and predictability. The accumulation of these overwhelming events, occurring on a regular basis—not to mention the additional very real challenges that many children face at home—could contribute to what some call “small T-trauma” (a term I admittedly don’t love). This can in some cases alter the structure of a child’s brain to be hyper-alert to attempt to control their environment or avoid future pain.

What Do We Mean by Trauma, and How Does it Impact the Brain?

Trauma is often misunderstood as impacting just a small subset of the population, but it actually may be much more common than people realize. Approximately 64 percent of adults in the United States report having experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) before age 18, and one in six individuals report having four or more ACEs.

It is also not necessarily the event itself that is traumatic, but the way that event is experienced by the mind and body. Physician Gabor Maté often says, “Trauma is not what happens to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you.” The traumatic stress response is characterized by physiological dysregulation, which can cause a cascade of symptoms that include hypervigilance, increased heart rate, shallow and rapid breathing, warping of time, and severely reduced ability to control fear, emotionality, and perception.

While current definitions of trauma symptoms fall primarily under the heading of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is a growing recognition of a related condition, complex PTSD (C-PTSD). Unlike PTSD, which is typically the product of a singular extremely traumatizing event (e.g., a war or a violent attack), C-PTSD is the product of chronic conditions (e.g. ongoing abuse, domestic violence, or neglect), and is often linked to early childhood trauma. Adverse childhood events can underlie these conditions in some cases.

It’s important to remember that just because someone experiences an adverse event, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will develop a diagnosable trauma-related disorder; however, it does make it more likely.

Designing Places That Are Trauma-Informed

Humans spend approximately 90 percent of our time indoors—meaning that the built spaces we inhabit have an outsized impact on our lives. The places where we spend our days can offer wonderful ways to soothe us and help people cope with triggers—or they can exacerbate existing struggles and make it even harder for people to feel OK.

Trauma-informed design is a design process intended to help people regulate their bodies and minds to support the processes and practices that take place within the building. It can be applied to therapeutic spaces but also schools, workplaces, homes, and beyond.

Trauma-sensitive design is a step towards normalizing self-regulation as a part of coping with stressful environments. Trauma-informed design can benefit most people, not just those who have been traumatized, since its principles are rooted in evolutionary psychology and the biology of human well-being. Although it will likely be years or decades before we fully understand how the pandemic, climate change, and ongoing school shootings have affected today’s children, there are many who believe the need for trauma-informed design will only increase in the coming years.

Here, I’ll focus on schools and other places of learning for children, from early childhood to high school. I’ll outline six core themes to consider when designing spaces with a trauma-informed approach, based on the trauma-informed principles defined by The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), as well as specific evidence-based design strategies and examples to help any parent, teacher, school administrator, designer, loved one, or community member advocate for schools that support the mental well-being of children. It’s my hope that this article helps explain what trauma-informed design means, why it matters, and how it can be used in schools.

Faux green wall creates biophilic element. Clear wall creates transparency and openness with auditory control. Drop lights support coziness and comfort, with natural light streaming in on the wooden beams of the ceiling.

Source: HKS INC.

1. Safety

Creating a feeling of safety and comfort is essential for children to learn or, for that matter, for any of us to focus on anything besides our immediate survival. This is especially true for individuals who have experienced trauma and who have difficulty feeling safe or regulating their nervous system. The environment can help support this through numerous means, including the following strategies.

• Sensitive and predictable: Attention to sensory needs and sensitivities (e.g., loud noises, lighting glare) and transitions. This includes adequate lighting on paths of travel, parking lots, bathrooms, etc.
• Calm corner: Provide an area of reduced stimulation where students can go to regulate themselves. Features like a soft area rug, a pillow, and soft lighting can help offer a feeling of safety.

• Biophilia and nature: Opportunities to connect with and view nature and natural elements naturally calm and ground us.

2. Trustworthiness and Transparency

Trust and transparency are important to support the building and maintenance of healthy relationships and experiences at school. The environment can help support this through numerous means, including the following strategies:

• Welcoming: This could include an entryway that offers a degree of transparency or visibility to feel like you know what you are going into and that you’re welcome there.
• Wayfinding: The school design supports the ease of finding one’s destination, including signage, color, and symbols that are age-friendly to help you navigate.
• Storage: Ample storage to allow for supplies to be put away in an orderly way helps to reduce visual clutter, which can be overwhelming for someone who is in a chronic state of hypervigilance.

3. Peer Support

Peer support is about opportunities for people going through similar experiences to support each other. Part of any good design is its ability to facilitate the best coping mechanisms humans have: connection with one another. The environment can help support this through numerous means, including the following strategies.

• Adaptable furnishings: Space provides flexible layouts that allow for multiple small or large group arrangements, and customization of the space.
• Shared space: Creating shared outdoor and indoor spaces that are designed for mixing and collaborating on external learning and play activities (e.g., art, sports, reading), can be a great way to overcome barriers and connect.
• Equitable provisions: Avoid creating a hierarchy between parts of the school, which can make certain students—for example, those with limited mobility or who use assisted meal programs—feel othered or excluded.

4. Collaboration and Mutuality

Integrating students, teachers, parents, and administrators is important to help people feel a sense of mutual respect. The environment can help support this through numerous means, including the following strategies:

• Better together: Times when the teachers or administrators can come out from behind a desk, office wall, or podium, and instead join the students in reading circles, playful activities, and vulnerable moments, to support an understanding that we’re all in this together.
• Accessibility: Does the space support ease of mobility for all occupants including those with mobility impairments and other disabling conditions (e.g., compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and beyond)?
• Human scale: Creating thresholds, niches, and spaces that help children big and small to feel safe and comfortable in their space.

Small reading nooks provide a great example of human scale for children at the Smithfield Elementary School.

Source: HKS INC.

5. Empowerment, Voice, Choice

This is about how an individual’s strengths and experiences are recognized and built upon. Creating small opportunities to control one’s environment and demonstrate mastery is helpful. The environment can help support this through numerous means, including the following strategies:

• Flexibility: The ability to customize the lighting, where one sits, or how loud a space is allows us to feel a measure of control that helps all of us regulate and feel calm.
• Play and movement: Does your school have outdoor and indoor spaces for movement, play, and exploration (e.g., gym, climbing, swings) to allow students to move throughout their days?
• Choice and options: Do you feel like engaging with others, or not? Do you need to get out of your own head, or do you need to have a space that’s your own? This is why environmental choice is so important.

6. Cultural, Gender, and Historical Context

Policies, protocols, and processes should be responsive to the racial, ethnic, and cultural needs of individuals served by the organization. Look for ways to represent student artwork, for example, or create cultural recognition of different student backgrounds in murals around the school. The environment can help support this through numerous means, including the following strategies.

• Identity anchors: People should see themselves literally or metaphorically in a space; this helps to combat isolation and enhance a sense of belonging.
• Inclusion: Does the space have representation or cultural artifacts from the nondominant culture to signal safety and belonging to members of those cultures in the space?
• Gender affirming: Is the space sensitive to all genders, including people who do not identify with a specific gender? Nongendered bathrooms are one of the most effective ways to do this, but it’s also important to consider other ways to reduce stigma and increase safety for those who are trans, nonbinary, or genderfluid.

As we move forward in applying trauma-informed design approaches to schools, we can help by learning more, leaning in, and being open to seeing the world differently. Most people do not want to see themselves as victims; rather, trauma-informed design is about seeing us all as humans in need of mutual understanding, belonging, and safety.

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WEST CHESTER — Help!

You are young, fighting mental illness and your parents can’t afford insurance or you are on medical assistance.

Leslie Holt, founder and director of A Child’s Light is there to help while working toward a solution.

Leslie Holt looks at a photo of her late daughter who was an inspiration for A Child’s Light. (BILL RETTEW/MEDIANEWS GROUP)

A Child’s Light funds trauma-informed, private mental health treatment for children ages 2-18 and has served 150 children to access long-term treatment.

“ACL funds kids who have been victims of sexual or physical violence, trafficking, loss of parents to fentanyl poisoning and other life-altering trauma,” Holt said Tuesday morning during an interview at the new offices of A Child’s Light at 1444 Phoenixville Pike, in a cottage located on the property adjacent to Treehouse World.

A Child’s Light has been operational since 2019 and opened the doors to the new office in June of 2023.

The 501(c)3 not-for-profit serves families from the Pottstown to Parkesburg areas and everywhere in between.

A great place for therapy at A Child’s Light. (BILL RETTEW/MEDIAENEWS GROUP)

ACL partners with therapists who understand the huge need for childhood mental health providers and the challenges families in Chester County face. With a waitlist approaching two years, Holt has developed another business model to help children who have suffered the worst types of abuse.

“Severe trauma is life-altering and our children and community deserve more,” she said. “We are investing in our kids.”

Holt knows of what she practices. She was a victim’s advocate for five years and was able to see firsthand the inefficiencies in the systems in place to help little victims.

Needy kids receive therapy at A Child’s Light. (BILL RETTEW/MEDIANEWS GROUP)

“This is not something specific to Chester County,” she said. “Across the US there is a childhood mental health crisis.”

Holt’s personal and professional life coincided with her own daughter’s sexual abuse at the hands of a trusted friend who bought her alcohol when she was 14 and encouraged her to drink to blackout. This one incident changed her daughter’s life forever.

Suffering from the attack and chronic Lyme disease pain, her daughter was poisoned by 3 methyl-fentanyl given to her without her knowledge and died. The daughter’s death was instrumental in the development of A Child’s Light and in her passion for helping little ones who suffered as she had from abuse.

“Seeing my daughter bravely struggle, I don’t want any other children to struggle as my daughter did,” Holt said.

The Phoenixville Pike facility hosts the Great Room where support groups and therapists meet with families. A huge picture window looks out onto Valley Creek and a whimsical treehouse can be seen from the backyard. The facility with much natural sunlight is located down a driveway in the back of Treehouse World. Wood floors and beams welcome clients and staff.

The Stone Room is a comfy, private space for one-on-one therapy and looks out to an abundance of beautiful mature trees.

“This is the type of environment that kids should come to for therapy!” Holt said while talking about the faculty in general. “Isn’t this space warm and inviting and not at all like a regular therapist’s office?

“What child wouldn’t want to come to therapy here?”

Plans call for adding art therapy in the fall, at a sun-filled room opening to a slate patio along with music therapy and boxing for empowerment and building self-esteem.

A Child’s Light is excited to welcome other children, while other professionals serve in the building, including Confident Parenting, 2BeSocial, and Imago OT, to its second floor.

A Child’s Light is honored to be the designated recipient of proceeds raised by this year’s Paoli Blues Fest on Sept. 30 at Wilson Farm Park. This event is open to all with food trucks and there will be activities for kids from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information and to support A Child’s Light, go to www.childslight.com or call 610-405-2968.

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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

No matter where in the world, educational curricula must be rigorously researched to prevent the real-world consequences of prejudice and discrimination being disseminated, which if left unchecked, corrode the foundations of progress, Lord Simon Isaacs writes.

In the field of public health, it isn’t difficult to recall instances where flawed research has had far-reaching consequences, from misguided claims discouraging the COVID-19 vaccination to debunked theories linking the MMR vaccine to autism. These and other examples have been well documented.

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However, societal well-being is dependent not only on public health. The impact of educational curricula and the very textbooks that children study not only shape millions of impressionable minds but are key to the way society will look in decades to come. 

So, when these veritable foundations of education are flawed, they should be treated with a similar sense of alarm.

An obvious case in point is recently published textbooks in Russia, which justify the invasion of ‘ultranationalist’ Ukraine and depict occupied lands as part of Russia. 

Clearly, the Kremlin has calculated that inculcating young people today will help bolster its expansionist goals into the future.

Meanwhile, there is evidence that differing perceptions of the European Union within textbooks are closely aligned with individual national narratives on the issue. 

A comparative academic study of English and German textbooks revealed that the English curriculum portrays the EU primarily as a controversial issue, whereas German textbooks reflect a more positive approach.

Problematic textbooks and an analysis gone awry

Clearly in any country, publishing textbooks can make a deep imprint on societal norms. 

As such, textbook production must be carefully monitored and all the more so when it is being funded by European taxpayers. 

A prime example is the textbooks published by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which are replete with hateful portrayals of Jews and encourage violence against Israel — acts of terror such as the 1972 Munich Massacre are endorsed and even scientific theory is taught through the prism of shootings and attacks on Israelis. 

Given that the EU constitutes the PA’s single largest funder, it is no wonder that Brussels has taken a keen interest in the issue.

That is why from 2019 to 2021, the EU commissioned the Georg Eckert Institute (GEI), a German centre for international textbook analysis (named after a former Nazi who volunteered for Hitler’s Brownshirts and defected in 1944 to join the Greek resistance), to “provide the EU with a critical, comprehensive and objective foundation for political dialogue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the subject of education”. 

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Unfortunately, there was nothing “critical” about the report by the institute, which totalled about 170 pages of analysis on 156 Palestinian textbooks and 16 teaching guides published between 2017 and 2019.

When research is flawed, decision-making is impacted

On closer inspection, mainstream media, public figures, and organisations exposed alarming shortcomings in GEI’s work. 

Instances of antisemitism and incitement to violence were overlooked and the institute’s director of the study, Dr Riem Spielhaus, even admitted to German media that in some cases the wrong textbooks were analysed altogether. 

One glaring error showcased an Israeli textbook in Arabic promoting peace and tolerance, which Georg Eckert Institute mistakenly identified as a Palestinian textbook.

GEI’s director, Eckhardt Fuchs, finally admitted in testimony in the European Parliament that the PA textbooks did not meet UNESCO standards, and the report’s FAQ section published after its publication confirmed that “the textbooks contain anti-Semitic narratives and glorification of violence”. 

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However, the institute has still not admitted its mistakes or taken responsibility for its flawed work.

Whether GEI’s report is evidence of rank incompetence or a worrying bias, the failure to conduct research with accuracy and integrity has a serious impact. 

After all, the debate over PA incitement and the poisoning of millions of young minds via its education system, is a live and important discussion in the European Parliament, the UK Parliament and other key international decision-making bodies. 

More often than not, views expressed in these forums and ultimately the decisions made by national and international leaders are reliant on quality, accurate research.

Preventing corroding effects of prejudice and discrimination

The stark reality of PA incitement via its textbooks and GEI’s subsequent failure to properly analyse the issue, alongside Russia’s exploitation of curricula for political purposes, should provide a wake-up call. 

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After all, in every country whether in a conflict zone or not, education plays a crucial role in perpetuating national narratives and fostering societal norms. 

No matter where in the world, educational curricula must be rigorously researched to prevent the real-world consequences of prejudice and discrimination being disseminated, which if left unchecked, corrode the foundations of progress.

If we are to build better societies, we need more analysis and greater awareness of the importance played by textbooks studied by millions of children. 

Just as public health research has been subjected to endless scrutiny, the same maxim must now be applied to analysing the curricula which will frame the attitudes and values of the next generation.

The Most Hon. Marquess of Reading Lord Simon Isaacs is the Chairman of the Barnabas Foundation.

At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at view@euronews.com to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.

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Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith share a longstanding marriage that has remained an open book to the public. Both actors have shared their moments of happiness and struggle with audiences over the years. While some of these discussions have been considered valuable insights for their audiences, others have stirred controversy. Apart from their relationship, the couple has also openly discussed parenting on several occasions.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

While the Emancipation actor was in the spotlight for the Oscar slap incident, he was also a topic of discussion around that time due to the release of his autobiography, Will. The Hancock actor co-authored the book with the famous self-help author, Mark Manson, and Smith did not hold back on any details about his marital life.

Also Read: “If you’re not a h*e, then you’re not really hip”: Lack of Freedom in Will Smith Marriage Deeply Hurt Jada Pinkett Smith, Changed Her Ideology as a Mother

The Time Will Smith Brought Jada Pinkett Smith To Tears

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith at the Oscars 2022

In his book, Will Smith detailed what he called the biggest argument in his marriage with Jada Pinkett Smith. The couple decided to attend therapy sessions to improve their relationship and save their marriage. During one session, both were asked to list their priorities in life. The couple took a few minutes to write it down and was then asked to exchange their list with each other.

As The Pursuit of Happyness actor went through Jada Smith’s list, he was confused and concerned, and it was even worse when he saw his wife in tears. Smith revealed that it was one of the most hurtful moments for him in their twenty-five years of marriage. Each of them had written down four priorities, and their order of priorities was entirely different.

The Red Table Talk host’s order was “the children, Will, Myself, Extended family, and friends”, while her husband’s order read, “Me, Jada, the Children, my career”. Recalling his wife’s emotional response, the Focus actor wrote in his book:

“‘I cannot believe you put yourself above our children,’ she said, her voice quivering.”

It was understandable for the Hawthorne actress to be upset about her husband’s priorities, after raising three children together. However, the King Richard actor had valid reasons for choosing his order of priorities.

Also Read: “I was profoundly disturbed”: Jada Pinkett Smith, Who Sat Through Will Smith’s Humiliating Moment On Red Table Talk, Was Not Comfortable At All After Willow Smith Brought Up One Topic

Will Smith Tried To Justify His Choice Of Priorities To An Upset Jada Pinkett Smith

Will Smith & Jada Smith with Jaden and Willow Smith

Will Smith, at every given chance, talks about his family and how they collectively tackle all the minor and major issues in each of their lives. However, his priorities were as surprising to readers as they were to Jada Pinkett Smith. The Men In Black actor explained to the Gotham actress that taking care of oneself is essential to caring for their family.

Assuring that he loved her and his children above anything else in the world, the Bad Boys actor tried to use an airline analogy to explain himself. Smith compared the situation to when airlines instruct passengers to put on their oxygen masks before helping others. Further explaining his choices to his wife, the Seven Pounds actor wrote in his book:

“‘Jada, all I’m saying is that if you don’t go to the gym, if you don’t eat right, if you don’t take your mental and emotional condition as primarys, you’re not going to be as good a mother. You take care of your kids by taking care of yourself.’”

Also Read: “I didn’t have to read anything”: Jada Pinkett Smith’s Strange Obsession Gave Her Free Pass in Keanu Reeves’ $1.7B Franchise That Was Turned Down by Will Smith

However, Jada Smith was not ready to accept her husband’s explanation. The Girls Trip actress was heartbroken, and Smith wrote that she even refused to wipe off her tears. However, the couple seemed to have resolved the argument and continued to cherish their marriage to this day.

Source: Will by Will Smith, Mark Manson

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All foster children experience the trauma of separation from their birth parents — and too many others have experienced other adverse experiences like neglect or abuse. In light of these challenges, Michigan’s child and family service agencies are working to provide the mental health services foster kids desperately need.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity.” ACEs include traumas like domestic violence, sexual abuse, substance abuse in the home, the daily experience of racism, or separation from a parent due to divorce, death, imprisonment, or loss of parental rights. 

“Almost 100% of the foster care children have experienced some form of trauma, different traumas at various levels,” says Michael Williams, president and CEO of Orchards Children’s Services, a child and family services agency with locations in Genesee, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties. “Leaving your family is traumatic for any child. Neglected children sometimes don’t have as many traumatic episodes as the ones that were abused, but nonetheless, it affects all of them.”

The Michigan ACE Initiative shares that children who experience ACEs can develop the resilience needed to live healthy, happy, and productive lives. And many Michigan organizations are helping them do just that through behavioral health services.

Eastern Michigan: EMDR and an emphasis on education

In addition to making traditional therapies available to the foster children it serves, Orchards Children’s Services has found Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to be an effective way to help kids build resilience after experiencing trauma. This evidence-based form of psychotherapy uses eye movements or other bilateral stimulation while processing traumatic memories. EMDR helps the brain to alter the emotions, thoughts, and responses associated with the traumatic experience. 

Orchards has trained all its therapists and staff working in child welfare in EMDR. Williams says EMDR helps children immediately rather than waiting on time-consuming, continuing diagnoses.
Michael Williams.
“EMDR helps us to find solutions to help that child to better understand how to deal with the trauma or any of the emotional issues that he or she has experienced,” he says. “Some children do better with talk therapy, based on their ability to have cognitive understanding of some of the issues that they face. I think in order to be effective in treating them, you need to have both options available.”

Northwest Michigan: summer camps, horsing around, and traditional therapies

With offices in Gaylord, Harbor Springs, and Traverse City, Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan (CFS) supports the mental health needs of its communities, particularly foster children and foster parents. In addition to traditional therapies, CFS offers an Equine Assisted Therapy program, summer camps, group therapy, and support groups. In the near future, CFS will introduce trauma-informed parenting classes for foster parents and other child caregivers. Many of these services are available virtually.
Michelle Nichols.
“We’re going to also resurrect our support group for adoptive parents, foster parents, and possibly other parents,” says Michelle Nichols, site manager and family resource specialist with CFS. “It’s more of a prevention effort to try to keep children in their placement as long as possible.”

CFS contracts with mental health providers like Megan Morrissey, a therapist who often works with foster kids.

“Almost all children in foster care meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder,” Morrissey says. “Many of them also have attachment disorders, which is the preliminary to developing personality disorders in adulthood and puts them at significant risk for substance use disorders, as well as other things that are not necessarily mental health conditions but are connected, like being victims of domestic violence in adulthood.”

Morrissey notes that many children in foster care also experience high levels of anxiety and depression. Because of these underlying mental health issues, children in foster care may experience difficulty sleeping, nightmares, wetting the bed, and food-related issues like hoarding food, stealing food, overeating, chronic indigestion, overeating, or undereating. They often express emotional dysregulation, which can manifest as not being present (dissociation), lack of motivation, withdrawal, or temper tantrums.

“Foster parents are going to be the ones who see the vast majority of symptoms,” Morrissey says. “Often, children who are in foster care have a history of being bullied and a lack of social skills because those aren’t being demonstrated for them at home. That can result in a lot of social anxiety, a lot of self-consciousness. Children who’ve experienced a lot of trauma can be either hyper-aware of their bodies or don’t feel their bodies. They are numbing up.”

Lansing-based agency builds trust, works on attachments

Based in Lansing, Child and Family Charities (CFC) has sent five of its practitioners for training in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. These five will, in turn, train CFC’s other staff members in the modality, which is designed to meet the complex needs of children who have experienced adversity, early harm, toxic stress, or trauma. These kids often find it difficult to trust the loving adults in their lives, so they act out.
Dr. Andrea Calabrese.
“It’s a trauma-based model of looking at behavior differently — less shaming and more supportive for not only the child, but teaching the parent how to be more supportive, listening to the child, and understanding where the behavior is coming from,” says Dr. Andrea Calabrese, CFC’s chief operations officer.

Calabrese notes that kids who have been abused or neglected often have difficulty with attachment issues. Removing children from their birth homes can exacerbate those attachment issues. Calabrese shares that foster children also experience ambiguous loss, a loss felt strongly when their loved ones are alive but not present.

“Some of our children act out violently. Some of our children withdraw. Some of our children self-harm, from ingesting substances and burning or cutting themselves to putting themselves in serious situations, such as human trafficking,” Calabrese says. “A lot of these behaviors come from disrupted attachment.”

TBRI seeks to heal the child’s ability to make healthy attachments by building trust.
Mary Corrigan.
“Sometimes foster parents come in thinking, ‘Well, I’ll just love them. And as a result, this child’s behavior will change.’ Love is a good starting point. But it’s a slow trajectory,” says Mary Corrigan, CFC behavioral health therapist. “Foster parents hate when I say this, but I tell them to keep parenting but let go of the results. The ongoing support we provide them is crucial to them continuing to have a healthy perspective.”

State of Michigan “very attuned” to foster childrens’ mental health needs

At the state level, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Bureau of Children’s Coordinated Health Policy and Supports (BCCHPS) enhances access to and oversight of behavioral health services for children who receive Medicaid, including foster children. MDHHS also provides incentive payments to community mental health systems at the regional level for these children.
Dr. Jeanette Scheid.
“There also are trainings and conferences that foster parents can come to and hear from other foster parents and from local, regional, and national experts,” says Dr. Jeanette Scheid, medical consultant at MDHHS’ Children’s Services Agency. “Our mental health systems are also very, very attuned to the importance of the systems of care principles that include family-driven, youth-guided principles for parents, broadly speaking, and parents who are in the foster parent role.”  

MDHHS also requires foster parents going through the licensing process to take formal training that addresses foster children’s mental health needs, the impact of trauma, and the emotions and behaviors that these children express. In addition, MDHHS provides Foster Parent Navigators who not only help potential foster parents with licensing but also offer them ongoing support.

“As a society, we all share the value of supporting the health and wellbeing of children,” Scheid says. “We have three main goals in child welfare — permanency, safety, and wellbeing. We’re trying to work on lifting all of those up. Part of doing that is identifying and addressing mental health needs as early as possible.”

Estelle Slootmaker is a working writer focusing on journalism, book editing, communications, poetry, and children’s books. You can contact her at Estelle.Slootmaker@gmail.com or www.constellations.biz.

Michael Williams photos by Steve Koss. 

Andrea Calabrese photo courtesy of CFC. Michelle Nichols photo courtesy of Michelle Nichols. Mary Corrigan photo courtesy of Mary Corrigan. Jeanette Scheid photo courtesy of MDHHS.

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