Beyond Defiance: Understanding the Shame Beneath Your Child's Behavior

Beyond Defiance: Understanding the Shame Beneath Your Child's Behavior

Why children who have experienced trauma often act out, and how connection can become the pathway to healing.

Is your child being defiant, or are they protecting themselves from deeper feelings of shame? In this one-hour, trauma-informed workshop, parents and caregivers will learn how trauma can shape a child's sense of self and influence behaviors that are often misunderstood as manipulation, disrespect, or defiance.

Many children who have experienced trauma, neglect, abuse, abandonment, or significant loss carry a hidden belief that something is wrong with them. When children feel unworthy, unwanted, or unlovable, their behavior often becomes a reflection of the pain they are carrying. Lying, stealing, aggression, withdrawal, perfectionism, and emotional outbursts may be less about opposition and more about protection.

Participants will gain practical tools for recognizing shame-based behaviors, responding with curiosity instead of judgment, and strengthening connection while…