by GIFT Coach | Oct 17, 2013 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, General Discussion, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors
Before your child joined your family and you and your child’s birth parents chose Open Adoption, it probably seemed fairly simple. You developed a plan that suited your child and both sets of parents. The reality of Open Adoptions, however, often becomes more...
by GIFT Coach | Oct 9, 2013 | General Discussion, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors
What are your goals as a parent and how do you know you’re progressing toward them? Have you and your partner identified a clear idea that is based on shared definitions? Or are you operating on assumptions that you both want the same results? Successful...
by GIFT Coach | Oct 2, 2013 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, General Discussion, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors
On our weekly conference call with my GIFT partners, we talked about the influence our kids choices have on one another. Some of us notice that when one child shines the other frequently implodes–finds himself choosing behaviors that produce dramatic,...
by GIFT Coach | Sep 25, 2013 | General Discussion, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors, Strengthening Family Relationships, The Adoption Triad
According to Steven Covey, “The most important ingredient we put into any relationship is not what we say or what we do, but what we are.” I would assert, that the pivot point which governs a parent/child relationship revolves around feelings–our own and...
by Gayle Swift | Jun 11, 2013 | Blogs by Gayle Swift, Faith and Values, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors, Strengthening Family Relationships
As we continue to explore the importance of fathers in our lives, we came across this TED Talk link to Andrew Solomon’s presentation. A gay man, he shared his parents’ attitude to his “otherness.” While they came to accept his being gay, they...
by GIFT Coach | Mar 29, 2013 | Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors, Strengthening Family Relationships
During this past month we’ve explored the way walls function in our lives to protect and defend us. It is important for us to know when to open these defenses and especially vital to teach our children these same skills. When we are in a moment of confrontation,...
