Oscar*, a kindergartener, tried to get his mother’s attention by pretending to cut her throat with a toy knife. He didn’t follow the rules and ignored his teacher’s instructions at school. Oscar frequently hit his siblings and classmates in kindergarten, the latter resulting in a suspension.

“Emma* does what Emma wants to do.” That was what the teacher said of three-year-old Emma, who was referred to EFC’s Early Childhood Outreach (EChO) program because of her volatile classroom behavior. Emma refused to participate in group activities and play with her classmates, hit and spat at others, and rarely spoke.

Giselle*, a single mother of three children, was living in a shelter for homeless families and concerned for her three-year-old son, Elijah*, who threw intense tantrums regularly. Giselle felt concerned about how major changes in their family and housing insecurity was affecting Elijah. How would this stressful season for her family affect Elijah’s ability to cope with life’s hardships as he grew up and when he was an adult? She was at a loss.

“Trinity* thought she ran the house.” That’s how Melissa* described the situation with her three-year-old daughter Trinity. Melissa, Trinity, and her two other daughters were living in a shelter for homeless families. The mother of three had trouble responding to her oldest daughter’s volatile behavior. She ran away from her mom when playing outside, hit her parents and sisters, and had major tantrums every day at preschool drop-off. She refused to get out of the car and screamed, hit, kicked, and flailed when her mother attempted to take her inside.

Lydia* was a mother living with her four children under the age of 12, including her oldest child, Madeleine. From the time Madeleine was born until she was four years old, Madeleine witnessed her mother in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. Lydia’s ex-husband would often abuse and taunt her in her toddler’s presence.

Positive caregiving is key to creating harmonious households and classrooms full of positive relationships. During one of EFC’s Buffering Toxic Stress workshops for teachers, one of the teachers, Natalia*, realized that the way she talked and thought about some of her students was negative. In her mind, she applied labels like “problem child” or “challenging” to some of her students, which was not yielding positive results.

Have you ever wondered how exactly your support of Exchange Family Center is transforming children’s lives? Introducing Your Support in Action: real stories about real kids and families in EFC’s therapy programs that YOUR support makes possible. Read and share with your friends stories of how EFC’s programs use play, positive parenting/caregiving, responsive environments, and resiliency to make Durham area children’s lives better. Join us as we show Your Support in Action!