Youth Services: Child trauma

Childhood trauma can arise when a child experiences or witnesses a negative experience in childhood and those experience can often overwhelm a child and the memories, emotions or fear of a situation can become childhood trauma that can cause impacts in a child’s life. Some causes of childhood trauma include abuse, neglect, and family violence. These experiences are known as interpersonal trauma. Interpersonal trauma can arise from 3 situations, when something is done to a child such a physical or sexual abuse and family or community violence, when there is physical or emotional neglect in the home or because their parents have experience their own trauma that impacts how they raise their child such as mental illness.  

Childhood trauma can occur when a child witnesses or experiences overwhelming negative experiences in childhood. Many childhood experiences can overwhelm a child. This can happen in relationships e.g. abuse, neglect, violence. This is called interpersonal trauma. Children can also experience traumatic events. These include accidents, natural disasters, war and civil unrest, medical procedures or the sudden loss of a parent/caregiver.

Reference:

See the below website for further information