I AM WELLBEING

Ms. Akanksha Chandele, founder, I AM, conducted a session on Understanding Non-Violent Communication at Newgen as a part of the company's Corporate social responsibility program. NVC is based on the assumption that all human beings have capacity for compassion and empathy and that people only resort to violence or behavior harmful to others when they do not recognize more effective strategies for meeting needs. 

Throwback  to the day our founder was presented a token of appreciation by her alma mater, Amity University, Noida, after being a part of a panel discussion about suicide prevention.

Abraham Maslow

Throwback to the day when our Founder, Ms. Akanksha Chandele, facilitated a workshop on Trauma and its impact at Department of Psychology, Amity University.

 Melody Beattie

 Parents and caregivers make a significant difference in the lives of their children. By raising them in a loving, positive home, they can put them on the path to a happy, healthy life. Adults also have a crucial role in protecting kids from unhealthy experiences.

. Studies show that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as verbal abuse or substance abuse by parents, can stop a child’s healthy development. ACEs can lead to “toxic stress”—or highly stressful situations —for kids. Too much toxic stress for a child can lead to health problems from childhood and teen years into adulthood.

. The early years of a child’s development are critical. Children need safe and encouraging relationships and homes to succeed and grow. .

What Are Protective Factors?

Studies show that an important way to prevent ACEs and toxic stress is to build “protective factors” in children. Protective factors are like a shield to protect kids from ACEs and build resilience. They are things like:

Loving, supportive parents

Parents who read and talk to their kids

Healthy relationships with parents, family members and friends

Learning good communication skills . If there are no protective factors for a child, toxic stress can affect brain development. . The most important protective factor is a caring, loving relationship with parents or caregivers. . One of the goals for parents is to load their “child’s scale” with positive factors. That will help them build resilience to deal with negative things that can occur.

Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years) such as experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect; witnessing violence in the home; and having a family member attempt or die by suicide. Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding such as growing up in a household with substance misuse, mental health problems, or instability due to parental separation or incarceration of a parent, sibling, or other member of the household. . Adverse Childhood Experiences have been linked to

risky health behaviors,

chronic health conditions,

low life potential, and

early death. . Risk factors are those characteristics linked with child abuse and neglect—they may or may not be direct causes.

'I Am' conducted a needs assessment session to understand the challenges that women in the community face in terms of parenting, at @ourkhwaab , an organisation financially empowering community women.

Ms. Akanksha Chandele, Founder, I Am, conducted a workshop on parenting at Community Mela organised by Aga Khan Foundation. Mothers living in Nizamuddin Basti Area participated in the workshop.

iamwellbeing.in

"When a plant has been in the sun too long, without much water, it starts to droop, looks dry and dull. If you just give it a little extra water, move it to the shade, help it shed the drying leaves, it will slowly in time start growing new branches and new leaves, bright and strong once again. Similar is the situation with a child who has experienced trauma. All they really need is a little more compassion, protection, and patience" - Preeta Ganguli, Research Coordinator, I Am.