Leaping into 2025: Embracing Change with Confidence and Trust
Key Takeaways Trust in Support: We can lean on those around us (friends, family, community members, or Chosen) for support when facing challenges or unknowns. Perseverance Through Fear: Fear is natural, but it doesn’t have to stop us. We can move forward with excitement and anticipation, knowing it’s part of growth. Generational Life’s Journey is […]
Walking with Biological Families – How Adoption and Foster Care Changed Me for Good
Key Takeaways Proximity fosters understanding: Getting closer to someone’s story shifts judgment into compassion and changes the way we see ourselves and others. Uncomfortable isn’t unsafe: Stepping into unfamiliar or challenging situations can be a path to deeper connection and healing for both children and their biological families. True change costs more than money: Generational […]
Listening to the Adoptee’s Voice – Creating Space for Hard Truths This Adoption Awareness Month
Key Takeaways Adoptees deserve the full ownership of their stories, with all the complexities and truths they contain. Love alone can’t erase the unique pain of relinquishment, but supporting adoptees’ connections to their origins strengthens the family bond. Creating space for adoptees’ questions and feelings—no matter how hard—builds trust, healing, and connection. “I wish I […]
How Connection Heals – Navigating the Beauty and Complexity of Adoption
Key Takeaways Adoption is a beautiful journey but often begins with loss, impacting a child’s emotional experience. Loss of connection to biological families can lead to unresolved trauma that manifests in different stages of life. At Chosen, relational connection is key to healing and helping children thrive, and that’s why we provide tools and support […]
Caring for the Caregivers: Combatting Compassion Fatigue
Key Takeaways Compassion Fatigue Awareness: Social workers and caregivers must recognize the signs of compassion fatigue, which can jeopardize their well-being and the quality of care they provide. Prioritizing Self-Care: By prioritizing self-care practices such as body awareness and seeking support, individuals can build resilience and mitigate the effects of compassion fatigue. Organizational Support Matters: […]
Celebrating Black Hair: Empowering Beauty and Resilience
Key Takeaways Black hair symbolizes resilience and empowerment: From the depths of historical oppression to the forefront of self-expression, Black hair stands as a testament to strength and pride. The CROWN Act champions hair equality: Enacted in multiple states, this legislation combats discrimination based on hair texture or style, fostering a more inclusive society. Moisture […]
Nurturing Discipline: Practical Alternatives to Spanking
Nurturing Discipline: Practical Alternatives to Spanking In another post, we explored What Does The Bible Say About Spanking? One clear takeaway is that it is important to discipline our kids. So, what is the difference between punishment (like spanking) and discipline? Today, let’s delve deeper into that difference as well as some practical alternatives that […]
Mastering the Chaos: Navigating Parenting with the Circle of Control
Key Takeaways Dial Down the Drama: Parenting kids with a trauma history amplifies this struggle. Let’s dive into a tool that turns down the volume on the chaos: The Circle of Control. Covey’s Circle Magic: Remember Stephen R. Covey? He gave us more than just habits; he gifted us the Circle of Control. It’s like […]
Building Skills with Connection
Building Skills with Connection: The Power of Scaffolding Have you ever seen a building under construction? Often it is surrounded by metal poles or wood planks. These temporary structures, called scaffolding, are put in place to provide stability for the growing parts and to aid in construction. Children who have experienced abuse and neglect often […]
Piñatas and Felt Safety
Finding the Function in Dysfunction My daughter has an irrational fear of piñatas—the fear that makes your heart race, palms sweaty and stomach turn. Complicating this fear is the fact that she spent most of the first 5 years of her life living in Mexico, land of the piñata. Where we lived, piñatas are just […]
Even Small Things Feel Big
I was never an angry person until I had kids. This is something I often joke about with my husband: I reminisce about how when I was a single college student, before him, before three littles demanding my constant attention, I don’t remember ever getting angry. Marriage made life more nuanced. Suddenly, there were things […]
Back to School Advocacy
“My Child is Scared to Go Back to Class!” Speak Up to Help Students Succeed Is your child afraid to go back to class? A new school year can be an anxious time for any child. For children with hard histories, this transition can be even more complicated. As a parent, you can advocate for […]
