Trauma-Proofing Your Kids

A Parents' Guide for Instilling Confidence, Joy and Resilience

By: Peter A. Levine, Maggie Kline

Narrated by: Janina Edwards

Length: 8 hrs

Publisher's summary

Understand the different types of upsets and traumas your child may experience—and learn how to teach them how to be resilient, confident, and even joyful

The number of anxious, depressed, hyperactive, and withdrawn children is staggering—and still growing! Millions have experienced bullying, violence (real or in the media), abuse, or sexual molestation. Many other kids have been traumatized from more “ordinary” ordeals such as terrifying medical procedures, accidents, loss, and divorce. Trauma-Proofing Your Kids sends a lifeline to parents who wonder how they can help their worried and troubled children now. It offers simple but powerful tools to keep children safe from danger and to help them “bounce back” after feeling scared and overwhelmed. No longer will kids have to be passive prey to predators or the innocent victims of life’s circumstances.

In addition to arming parents with priceless protective strategies, best-selling authors Dr. Peter A. Levine and Maggie Kline offer an antidote to trauma and a recipe for creating resilient kids no matter what misfortune has besieged them. Trauma-Proofing Your Kids is a treasure trove of simple-to-follow “stress-busting,” boundary-setting, sensory/motor-awareness activities that counteract trauma’s effect on a child’s body, mind and spirit. Including a chapter on how to navigate the inevitable difficulties that arise during the various ages and stages of development, this ground-breaking book simplifies an often mystifying and complex subject, empowering parents to raise truly confident and joyful kids despite stressful and turbulent times.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2008 Peter A. Levine and Maggie Kline (P)2021 North Atlantic Books

Critic reviews

“Peter Levine and Maggie Kline have done an outstanding job of helping parents, and everyone else, to understand the different kinds of trauma children may face. I have done a lot of work in therapy around my own traumatic childhood event and was able to try out many of the easy-to-follow exercises they provide. I truly felt a relief and peacefulness that I had never felt before. I treasure this book and hope you will too.”—Violet Oaklander, PhD, author of Windows to Our Children and Hidden Treasure: A Map to the Child’s Inner Self

“If you’ve ever wondered how to help children navigate the rough and tumble vicissitudes of life, this book is a godsend.”—Sandra Blakeslee, co-author of The Body Has a Mind of Its Own

“This book is a must for every parent, teacher, coach and scout leader. It helps us to understand the stages of childhood development and supports parents in dealing with each stage more appropriately and sensitively. It is a pioneering work, a pioneering insight and a pioneering triumph. It is visionary common sense, pure and simple.”—From the foreword by Mira Rothenberg

Helpful but idealistic

It’s good to know how to respond when trauma happens, but it seems the book is focused on teaching exactly what to do as it is happening. I wish the author spent at least some time focusing on more clear steps to take when you don’t realize it until after the trauma. As a parent, I think most of the time I won’t catch it until symptoms appear later. Some stories after the trauma are shared but the steps to take are less clear.

Just what I was looking for!

This book is exactly what I’ve been looking for in helping my son heal from past trauma and going forward as he’s only 4. It gives very specific tools to use with your child. So far, I’ve used it to help him process a scary event that he wouldn’t stop talking about since it happened. After our session, he hasn’t mentioned it since! I’m now more confident I can help my child through life’s challenges. Definitely not something I had growing up myself. Also, the narration was perfect, very engaging and soothing. Highly recommend to any parent, caregiver, or teacher.

Good in general

This book was good for many one time events. But it did not cover how to help children who are experiencing continual psychological abuse from a parent after a messy divorce/domestic violence situation. It didn’t talk about how to help kids who are experiencing ongoing traumas, and really focused on the “after a bad thing has happened” kind of singular events. Trauma is not always an afterthought, it is often an ongoing continuation, and I was hoping for more tips on helping to trauma proof during suffering, not just after. I’ll re-listen to the book to try to glean more.