For children and teens who have experienced attachment loss or early trauma routines provide safety and predictability. Holidays usually blow routines right out of the water.
Balancing Joy and Loss in the Adoption Triad
The prevailing narrative in our culture has been that adoption is a win/win/win for adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth/first family members. But this hasn’t been accurate or fair.
Supporting Children that Have Identity Abundance
Parenting Children Navigating Several Different Kinds of Minority Stress - In my most recent podcast Mark discussed the concept of “identity abundance” and the gifts and challenges involved in growing up as someone with multiple non-dominant or protected identities.
What Gets In The Way of White People Doing Anti-Racism Work?
More stings than high-fives. That’s how I describe the process of doing anti-racism work as a White person. And before I keep writing, let me say that this piece will talk about the painful parts of doing anti-racism as a White person. It will talk about the discomfort of discovering (because many of us weren’t taught it) or being reminded that the system in the U.S. has been built for us literally by the backs of black and brown people, on stolen land. AND…this is not to center White pain in the conversation. It isn’t a “woe is me” story of how hard it is to be White in the hierarchy of racial privilege.
Five Steps For Managing Disruptive Behavior in Children
Children who exhibit conduct or behavior problems, often acting angry, aggressive, resentful or spiteful, deliberately annoying, or blaming, either melting down or acting out, can challenge even the most patient parent. How do you deal with the behavior and shape and transform it?
Tips for Parents of Children with Sensory Issues
Before we can dive into the application of sensory processing issues informed parenting, we need to understand more about the sensory system and how it relates to child behavior.
Tips for Deflecting Unwanted Attention as Adoptive Families
Transracially adoptive families often navigate unexpected attention and questions from others. Some of these approaches are innocent and well-intended, but some are not. Handling sudden inquiries is one of many skills transracially adoptive families need to develop. Enlisting your child in problem-solving helps them trust their “gut”, and reassures that they are in charge of their story.
The Tail Doesn’t Wag The Dog
When kids are struggling and melting down, friends and bystanders often suggest that parents 'Get Bigger' to get their kids to behave. Yet, we know that kids from hard places or kids prone to meltdowns need a different approach. Here are two tips to help keep kids and adults regulated in tough situations.
Icebreakers Without Injury: Rethinking Name Games
Icebreakers are a great way to learn a lot about people. When asked, “How did you choose your child’s name”, for adoptees and their families the issue of naming power and choice is a complex one. Explore ways to create safe spaces for each other to live and learn.
Who Is The Hero? Adoption Narratives At the Olympics
Current events like the Olympics offer countless opportunities to examine who is centered in adoptive stories in the media. Learn more about adoptive parent heroism and the “willingness to adopt.”
Race, Racism and The Olympics: Get Better At Talking To Your Kids About Racial Inequity
The media surrounding the Olympics is an opportunity for you and the kids to get curious about race and racism. Explore Olympic history together and start having conversations about the systems at work because there’s never a right time to have these uncomfortable conversations.
Critical race theory: why it matters for White Children
Explore the many ways in which teaching accurate US history benefits each and every one of us because this truth needs to be told and believed in order for our country to heal and thrive.