by susand | Sep 23, 2011 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, Blogs by Susan David, Foster Parenting, General Discussion, Strengthening Family Relationships
Being a parent is a huge undertaking. Dah! “Tell me something I don’t know!” is perhaps what you are thinking! And, another revelation, sometimes being a teen is a difficult task! I am reminded of a cartoon that I saw recently while flipping through...
by Gayle Swift | Sep 18, 2011 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, Blogs by Gayle Swift, Difficult Discussions, Foster Parenting, General Discussion, Strengthening Family Relationships
Weaving family relationships with a child who has experienced trauma requires a well-stocked parenting toolbox. Unlike Dominoes which always fall in predictable directions when nudged, children sometimes respond to a technique and sometimes they do not. A successful...
by Sally A | Jul 24, 2011 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, Blogs by Sally Ankerfelt, Foster Parenting, General Discussion, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors, Strengthening Family Relationships
Not long ago, I returned from work to find my soon-to-be 20 year-old daughter frantically washing her clothes. Just that morning, she had called to announce that she was heading back to the birth family and town she left behind eight short years earlier when she...
by Gayle Swift | Jul 17, 2011 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, Blogs by Gayle Swift, Difficult Discussions, Foster Parenting, General Discussion, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors, Strengthening Family Relationships
As an adult, a nasty little gremlin occasionally lurks in my mind’s ear. Usually, I can activate my mute button and silence the negativity–but not always. This inner voice sabotages efforts, magnifies doubts, inflates faults and rehashes mistakes. This gremlin...
by GIFT Coach | Jun 12, 2011 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, Blogs by Sally Ankerfelt, Difficult Discussions, Faith and Values, Foster Parenting, General Discussion, Post Adoption Challenges & Behaviors, Strengthening Family Relationships
It’s been more than 13 years ago now since I attended a seminar on adoption as my husband and I were anxiously awaiting news that we could go and receive our son who was waiting for us – along with the clearance papers – in the Philippines. I wish I could...
by gayles | Mar 21, 2011 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, Blogs by Gayle Swift, Strengthening Family Relationships
“You are Not My Real Mother!” I imagine every adoptive parent dreads hearing these words being spoken by their beloved adopted child. My daughter is now 23 years old. When she screamed that dreaded sentence, she was 9–frustrated and very angry. Her words...
