When a child feels intensely threatened by an event he or she is involved in or witnesses, we call that event a trauma. There is a range of traumatic events or trauma types to which children and adolescents can be exposed.

Examples of traumatic events that children might be exposed to outside of the family might include:

Car accident

Natural disaster (hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires)

School shooting

Community violence

Racial trauma, systemic discrimination, racism, oppression, and genocide

Immigration trauma

Sudden and prolonged separation/placement disruptions

Witnessing terrorist attacks

Witnessing war

Examples of traumatic events that children might be exposed to from within a family might include:

Domestic violence

Physical abuse

Sexual abuse

Medical trauma

Neglect

Unexpected death of a loved one