Posted on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
The February 2010 issue of Adoption Today features an article entitled Becoming More Real to My Kids. The article focuses on the need for us as parents to more fully embrace our children holistically, including those parts of their past and present which can be difficult and painful.
Posted on Sunday, January 17th, 2010
As part of our ongoing Common Questions & Concerns series, we address behavior and discipline issues that many children from hard places often encounter at school:
Question: My child is struggling in the classroom and is being sent to the principal’s office on a regular basis. He refuses to do some of the art class activities, has melt-downs in music class and withdraws during some class activities. To make things worse, standing in the school lunch line today he punched a child in the stomach and was sent to the prinicipal’s office to sit for the rest of the afternoon (nearly 3 hours!). What can I do?
Posted on Saturday, November 7th, 2009
We are continuing our work on the study guide entitled Empowered to Connect: A Christian Guide to The Connected Child. We hope to have the sudy guide complete and available later this fall, but in the meantime we wanted to provide you with a “sneak peak” by sharing the introduction to the study guide.
Posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009
Dr. Purvis and the TCU Institute of Child Development are developing a new set of DVDs — the Healing Family Series. This series is a follow-on resource to the Institute’s existing Lecture Series DVDs, featuring lectures by Dr. Purvis on a wide range of topics.
When complete the Healing Families Series will include nine professionally produced educational DVDs enabling professionals, families and caregivers to develop skills in dealing with children from hard places. This DVD series will address basic elements of the Institute’s work and include topics such as Sensory Integration, Facilitating Behavioral Change, Parent-Child Attachment and Nutritional Neuroscience.
Posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009
In our ongoing series, Common Questions & Concerns, we address the challenges that parents often face as they help their children transition to their “new world,” learn to trust and development secure attachment:
Question: We returned home with our child (adopted internationally) about 3 weeks ago. We are finding the adjustment much more difficult than we expected. For example, she is nearly 10 months old and is still not sleeping through the night. In addition, she cries what seems like all the time and is very irritable and unhappy in general. Frankly, it is making it very difficult for us to feel bonded with her and we are growing frustrated and tired. What are we doing wrong and what should we consider in order to get things back to normal?
Posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009
Tapestry, the adoption and foster care ministry at Irving Bible Church, will host its annual adoption and foster care conference on October 24, 2009, in Irving, Texas. As in past years, the conference will include a great line-up of practical breakout sessions that are highly relevant to adoptive and foster parents. This year’s conference sessions include topics such as the practical benefits of play, sensory processing issues, talking with children about the difficult realities of adoption and foster care as well as two sessions focused on older child adoption – just to name a few.
Posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009
Finding the Real Child, from the Spring 2006 issue of The TCU Magazine, details the remarkable story of Kristen. This story of hope illustrates well the healing power of parent/child connections. The article also offers a brief history of TCU’s Institute of Child Development, and provides an overview of the Institute’s work to help children and parents.
Posted on Friday, August 21st, 2009
I was recently interviewed on Think, a program on KERA (PBS). In this brief interview I talk about the importance and healing power of healthy touch for everyone, especially children from hard places. Visit http://video.kera.org/video/1208511389/program/1100712391 to view this interview.
Posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Each of us in our respective work and ministries receive many questions from parents and parents-to-be. These questions deal with a wide range of topics and issues, such as fear, behavioral challenges, discipline, attachment, communication, lying, sensory processing, sleep habits – and the list goes on and on. While each situation has its own unique aspects, there are some fairly common questions and concerns that adoptive and foster parents ask.
In order to help these parents find some of the answers they need, we are launching a series called Common Questions and Concerns. Over time we will address various questions and concerns that parents are raising, and offer practical and proven advice to help parents respond in ways that build and strengthen the connections with their children.
Our first post in the Common Questions & Concerns series deals with the issue of fear, and how parents can help their children overcome their fears:
Posted on Sunday, August 16th, 2009
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure . . . or so the saying goes. When it comes to adoption, what parents need instead of prevention is an ounce (or more) of preparation. Many adoptive parents can attest to just how critical it is to be prepared for the challenges that can arise. Likewise, these parents know the importance of staying connected, sticking together as a couple and a family and always maintaining a healthy perspective throughout the adoption journey.
Help! We’re Adopting, from the August 2009 issue of Adoption Today magazine, focuses on these important aspects of the adoption journey, offering helpful tips for those who are waiting, in the ‘adoption honeymoon’ period and beyond.