January 19, 2018
Adoption and Parenting Reads of the Week
Hi friends! Happy Friday!
Here’s to a weekend that’s cozy and warm, that’s equal parts relaxing and fun, and offers you time to take things in and feel at peace with the world around you. (Not always that easy, we know).
We feel at peace when we read great things, and this post is full of them! Have a click and enjoy.
See you Monday!
<3
What do you know about post-adoption services in your state? This excellent roundup from the Children’s Information Gateway lists all the post-adoption services in each state. Including resources for:
- Information and education
- Resource and referral
- Legal resource information
- Recreation
- Respite
- Support groups
- Advocacy
- Parental assistance and training
and much more!
Thoughtful tips for raising generous-hearted children.
The moments that changed adoption the US. “‘The key shift is the Enlightenment, when children start to be viewed as individuals with rights and to whom we have obligations, whereas they used to be seen as a small creature you have to feed until they’re old enough to work,’ says Peter Conn, author of Adoption: a Brief Social and Cultural History. ‘Really, the history of adoption is the history of children circulating among families probably in the same village and then later in the same city or the same state.’”
Three reasons traditional parenting doesn’t work with children from trauma. Reason one: “Trauma changes the brain. If your child was drug and alcohol exposed in utero, subject to abuse of any form before coming into your care, malnourished, neglected, or in and out of foster homes before arriving into your care (just to name a few), their brain has been altered by this trauma. They don’t see the world around them the same way a child who has not been through significant trauma does. Nor do they behave the same (more on this in a minute). They are thinking, behaving, reacting, and surviving out of loss, most of which has occurred in their mind. That’s why you cannot look at your child and ask, “What were you thinking?” Chances are, they don’t know. And if you continue to demand an answer, or lecture, you will continue to get less answers, or simply, blank stares.”
Are you preparing for a home study? These six tips from social workers are ones to keep on hand.
So moved by this this diary of “Princess Pigtails:” a foster mother’s account of a little girl and the first 97 days in her care. Beautifully written.
Looking for ways to offset the cost of adoption? Here are some!