In short, I’m a mom of three at 25. My journey began at 21, adopting two stepchildren and giving birth in 2015.
Shortly after they were placed in our care it became apparent they had PTSD.
Don’t get me wrong we knew something was up with them being homeless and their mom not being able to hold a job, not to mention she wouldn’t let their dad speak with them often.
Their mom jumped ship with calling about six months into the children being placed in our care.
You don’t know what to expect
I’m talking behavior, their whole attitude and demeanor will change rapidly after the first twenty-four hours being around them.
Be prepared for tears and triggers
In short, triggers are things that set a person off to the extreme, mentally or physically.
They will experience flashbacks and memories of traumatic things that haunt them.
Outbursts and meltdowns likely
Their whole world still remains upside down and they feel there is nothing to cling to.
whenever something becomes overwhelming or seems too difficult you can expect a complete shutdown.
Lack of appetite or eating too much
When my stepchildren first got here they didn’t want to eat dinner or a regular meal, they seemed to raid the cabinets when they weren’t in our line of sight.
School is not easy for them
They may all out refuse to go for the first while or attempt to run away from school if they feel overwhelmed.
It affects their ability to make friends or keep them
Friendships can be difficult for children with PTSD.
Typically the friendships don’t last or they are too afraid of what others will think of them.
It takes double amount the time they were traumatized for them to heal
Typically it takes a child either the amount of time they were traumatized or double that to heal from the pain.
A lot of therapy is typically necessary.
Discipline is a lot harder
In some cases, discipline will bear no results whereas other times they will just completely shut down for long periods of time.
In short, parenting a child with PTSD is a challenge, it’s even harder when one or both parents have it as well.
There will be days where progress is obvious and it’s a beautiful day.
Other days, it will seem like nothing but hell and heartbreak for everyone.
It takes a lot of time, love and persistence to raise a child with PTSD.
It’s worth the fight though.
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