Trauma Conference Recap

We spent the weekend san kiddos at a conference for parents of kids with trauma. At last years conference, I can say I left feeling like superwoman with all these great new tools in my belt for helping my kids to heal. This year was so different. We made so many connections with amazing families and got to share stories, successes and failures, but I left the conference feeling doubt. And not just a pinch of doubt, a whole whopping mountain of doubt. I have an immense amount of respect for the speakers and families at the conference so hearing everyone gasp and the room go silent after I mentioned in a small group that the kids grandparents were taking them to Disney World this fall, I was utterly horrified. I felt a little better after another family talked about their trip to New York City with their child and the accommodations that they made to give sensory breaks and unwinding time, and saw how it could be done in a safe and therpudic manner. T tried to talk me down afterwards from the ledge and reminded me that we don’t live our lives by isolating our children from experiences, and that we have a more “That’s How We Roll” attitude, I agreed, but the little voice in the back of my head keeps saying, “yah, but you’re stupid!”. Sure you could go 90 mph on the highway and not wear a seat belt and not get in an accident but is it responsible? Just because we can does it mean we should or that it is the best decision for our family. We will be going to Disney, because that’s how we roll, and we are accepting the fact that one of the adults might end up in the hotel pool with K the whole trip barely setting foot on the Disney grounds. Taking K to Colombia was a freaking train wreck. But if I had the decision to make again today, I wouldn’t have done it differently. So in a nutshell, that either makes me incredibly dense or a gluten for punishment. Stay tune for Therapeutic Parenting 101 – Trial by Fire