The Adoptive Difference: New Evidence on How Adopted Children Perform in School
by Nicholas Zill W. Bradford Wilcox, @WILCOXNMP A child who has been abandoned or removed from the care of both birth parents can gain much from being adopted into a loving family. Adoptive families typically provide the children in their care with residence in a safe, supportive neighborhood, attendance at a well-functioning, high-achieving school, and love, emotional […]
One on One Time
Children with a trauma history don’t receive correction well unless they have connection to a safe, loving caregiver. As a result, it is essential that parents be intentional about taking time to connect with their hurting children every day. Unfortunately, as parents, we tend to focus on correction first. Cindy Lee, Executive Director of the […]
Changing the Game Plan
Everyone taking care of children has experienced a time when they felt frustrated, unsure of what to do. As caregivers, foster parents, and adoptive parents, changing your approach can make a big difference. In the 2018 College Football National Championship, the University of Georgia faced the University of Alabama. At the start of […]
Foster and Adoption: Language and Sharing Imperfections
BY STACI THOMAS The words we use have a tremendous impact on those around us. It’s crucial to choose our language carefully when speaking of adoption and foster children. We should strive to use phrases that reflect how deeply we care. This means we need to avoid words that cast judgment on the child, paint […]
Navigating Foster Care During the Holidays
The stockings are hung, by the chimney with care, in hopes that…In hopes of what? For many children who have been placed into the foster care system, they have come from homes where there was no Christmas, there was no hope. They have come from families that did not celebrate a holiday. They have come […]
Helping Young People in Foster Care Through the Holidays
“Holidays are hard even when u have found “new family” because u still feel awkward and ur mom and dad are not there so though it is easier it sill makes u sad because u are reminded of what u don’t have.” — FosterClub member Divine, age 21, from Wisconsin, in foster care more than […]
Three Essential Pillars for Foster and Adopted Children
In 2008, an Australian psychologist named Howard Bath published an article (linked below) called “The Three Pillars of Trauma Informed Care.” Nearly a decade later, his work holds true as we continue to see the benefits of using trauma-informed interventions with foster and adopted children. Occasionally returning to the basics of trauma-informed care is essential […]
Ten Keys to Heal Trauma in the Adopted and Foster Child
1. Trauma creates fear and stress sensitivity in children. Even for a child adopted from birth, their internal systems may already be more sensitive and fearful than that of a child remaining with his biological parents. You must also consider the first nine months in which the child developed. These early experiences as well could […]
Who is Going to Support You?
To mark my 40th birthday, I decided to run a marathon. My husband and children were supportive of my dream, but I trained without them. My training was hard and long, but on the morning of the race, I felt prepared for the grueling run. I expected to finish in under four hours, and I […]
The Repair of Early Trauma: A “Bottom Up” Approach
Summary Did you know that when we say a child has an attachment disorder, it is often not the whole picture? It is only one part of a seven-piece jigsaw puzzle called ‘developmental trauma’. By putting together the puzzle, we can understand how a child’s adverse childhood experiences have shaped their emotional world and outward […]
Three Questions for Teaching Self-Regulation
Self regulation is a key component of the TBRI Empowering Principles. What do we mean by self regulation? We love this explanation from a child who attended one of our programs in the past: “Calm yourself by yourself.” Self regulation is also one of the primary expectations of children and adolescents in schools. Whether students are […]
Six Easy Ways to Create Attachment in Adoption
Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child, is nothing if she’s not practical. Her practicality is one of the things I like best about her—she gets that parents are busy and often don’t have time for “pie in the sky” theoretical questions. When I interviewed her for the Creating a Family Radio show on Raising and […]