How can we break the cycle of childhood trauma? Help a baby's parents

Teresa Cox-Bates was only 11 years old when her father died, an event that dramatically altered her family's circumstances and shaped her childhood experiences.

"I really remember us not having enough food to eat," says Cox-Bates, 37. Her mother worked as a paralegal back then, but struggled financially. "It was just hard. My mom was trying her best to provide everything, but it just wasn't enough."

She remembers not having clean clothes and eating only one meal on most days – and food could spark literal battles with her mom.

"If we snuck into the kitchen to get something, she'd beat us," she says, adding that her mother struggled with alcoholism in those days. "So with little things, she'd just snap."

There was housing instability, too: "I didn't stay anywhere long enough to even have a best friend."

The hardships Cox-Bates endured during childhood are what researchers call . Studies show they can leave a profound impact on the brains and bodies of kids, affecting their health as adults, like heart disease,