childhood nurturance

Children need good enough nurturance in order to flourish. Here are four ways:

1. Verbal Nurturance: Eager participation in multi-demensional conversation. Generous amounts of praise and positive feedback. Willingness to entertain all questions. Teaching, reading stories, providing resources for ongoing verbal development.

2. Spiritual Nurturance: Seeing and reflecting back to the child their, her, or his essential worth, basic goodness and loving nature. Engendering experiences of joy, fun, and love to maintain the child's innate sense that life is a gift. Spiritual or philosophical guidance to help the child integrate painful aspects of life. Nurturing the child's creative expression. Frequent exposure to nature.

3. Emotional Nurturance: Meeting the child consistently with care, regard, and interest. Welcoming and valuing the child's full emotional expression. Modeling non-abusive expression of emotions. Teaching safe ways to release anger that do not hurt the child or others. Generous amounts of love, warmth, tenderness, and compassion. Honoring tears as a way of releasing hurt. Being a safe refuge. Humor.

4. Physical Nurturance: Affection and protection. Healthy diet and sleep schedule. Teaching habits of grooming, discipline, and responsibility. Helping the child develop hobbies, outside interests, and own sense of personal style. Helping the child balance rest, play, and work.

- Complex PTSD, From Surviving to Thriving, Pete Walker LMFT Berkeley (adapted)