On Tuesday January 11th, 2011, a total of a 133 parents, grandparents, childcare workers and teachers packed into the Seaside Centre to hear Kim John Payne’s lecture on “Simplicity Parenting”, sponsored by the Sun Haven Waldorf School. Payne gave profound statistics and powerful insights along with warm hearted encouragement and humor that opened hearts and portrayed endearing imagery in the minds of parents about the trials and tribulations of raising children. His talk on, why and how to simplify our children’s lives, began with the startling discovery he made on the correlation between children in Asian refugee camps and children in affluent Western countries displaying symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Children in Western countries can experience the same level of stress as children in war struck countries by experiencing an accumulation of small stresses frequently, which he termed Cumulative Stress Reaction (CSR). These small stresses can lead children into various disorders such as ADD, ADHD and anxiousness, lack of empathy and impulse control. Children today experience “too much, too soon, too fast”, which Payne acutely pointed out is waging an undeclared war on childhood.
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