Archive for Articles
By: Amy Monroe, Dr. Karyn Purvis
Sunday, April 7, 2013
When parents make mistakes it can actually be healthy for both them and their children, so long as parents are quick to repair the ruptured connection. This is certainly good news, given that all parents are prone to their fair share of mistakes.
So here’s a challenge for all parents — let’s practice making mistakes (not intentionally, of course) and repairing them so that we and our children can grow and learn, and our connection can be strengthened. Are you up for it?
Tags: Attachment, Being Fully Present, Repairing Connection, Talking with Childen, Teaching Life Values
Posted in Articles |
By: Michael Monroe
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
People who make things look easy really get on my nerves. You know who I’m talking about. Ever watched one of those cooking shows on TV? You see them making some recipe in 10 easy steps and it always comes out looking hot, beautiful, and delicious. So you try it at home and all you end up with is a giant mess of something ugly and inedible. Or maybe you’ve watched one of those home improvement shows where the host can build, repair, or decorate just about anything and it turns out great, all on a shoestring budget. So in a fit of inspiration you make a trip to Home Depot, spend twice as much as you wanted to, come home and four hours later all your spouse can say is “maybe we can call someone to come fix it tomorrow.” Why does it seem to be so easy for some people? Why are so many things in life easier said than done?
Tags: Behavioral Challenges, Being Fully Present, Connecting While Correcting, Count the Cost, Investment Model of Parenting, Motivations and Expectations
Posted in Articles |
By: ETC Team
Friday, January 4, 2013
Early bird pricing has been extended for the Orlando Empowered To Connect Conference, hosted by Show Hope and featuring Dr. Karyn Purvis. Register today to attend this two-day conference for an incredibly low price!
The Orlando ETC Conference will be held on Friday & Saturday, February 15-16, at First Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida.
Registration for the Orlando conference is open so register today!
Tags: ETC Conference
Posted in Articles |
By: ETC Team
Friday, December 21, 2012
We at Empowered To Connect have recently been presented with a special opportunity that could make a huge difference in our ability to continue serving adoptive and foster families in 2013. We have been approached by a generous individual who is offering to match all donations received between now and the end of the year. In other words, give to Empowered To Connect now and your gift — no matter how big or small — will be matched (up to a total of $10,000). That means your gift of $25 becomes $50, $100 becomes $200, and so on.
We hope you’ll consider helping us take advantage of this matching opportunity.
Tags: About ETC
Posted in Articles |
By: Michael Monroe
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
“Who are you?” I remember thinking this unthinkable thought as I looked into the face of my young son only a few years into our life together as an adoptive family. He did not share my DNA but he was every bit ‘mine.’ Yet while we were both made in the image of the same God, I was becoming aware that we were two very different reflections.
In that moment I began to be confronted by much of what I had brought into the journey of adoptive parenting – most significantly my expectations about my child and how this journey would unfold. In reality I hardly knew my son, still that did not stop me from creating expectations about the things he would like and how he would act and think. On top of that, I expected that the adoption path God had led us down would be relatively easy and straightforward once we were home. I convinced myself that adoption was little more than a historical fact of how we came to be, rather than an ongoing reality of the journey that lay ahead.
Tags: Adoption Preparation, Being Fully Present, Compassion, Especially for Dads, Motivations and Expectations
Posted in Articles |
By: ETC Team
Monday, December 3, 2012
We are doing a special sale for the month of December!
All online orders of $25 or more from the ETC online store are 20% off for the month of December. Use code: Christmas2012 at checkout.
Visit www.etcstore.org to find helpful resources for adoptive and foster families – including the Created To Connect Study Guide and the DVD — What Every Adoptive Parent Should Know. The discount also applies to Tapestry store, including DVDs and CDs from past Tapestry conferences, Tapestry t-shirts and more.
Tags: About ETC, Created To Connect Study Guide, Tapestry Conference
Posted in Articles |
By: Lisa Qualls
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
My son, Ebenezer, has an extreme fear of bees; when he sees a bee, or even a fly outside, he runs into the house and refuses to go back out. It isn’t difficult for me to understand why. When he was 2 1/2, he followed his brother into the pasture to feed the cows, and stepped on a wasps’ nest. The wasps swarmed him, and as we ran to help, we were all stung multiple times. Ebenezer had 35 stings. It was a horrible event for all of us – in fact, just writing about it makes me recall how terrified I was.
I’m currently reading The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel Siegel and Tina Bryson; it has given me so much to think about. Chapter 4: Kill the Butterflies! Integrating Memory for Growth and Healing is packed with fascinating information about the brain and how to help our children process memories. Making sense of their memories helps them better understand their thoughts and feelings in the present.
Tags: Brain Development, Compassion, Fear, Giving Voice, Overcoming Fear, Trauma
Posted in Articles |
By: ETC Team
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The Whole Brain Child, by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D., offers twelve revolutionary strategies to nurture your child’s developing mind. It is an excellent resource to help parents understand how a child’s brain develops and functions, and how they can help their child learn how to handle and respond to different experiences and challenges. The message of the book is that families — both children and parents alike — aren’t stuck in their current circumstances. Parents have the ability to change these circumstances by changing the way they respond and relate, and as they do this they can literally help to change their child’s brain (and their own) in the process.
Many adoptive and foster parents have found The Whole-Brain Child to be an incredibly helpful and relevant resource as they parent children from hard places. As important, they have found that the insight this book offers and the strategies it suggests are wholly consistent with the parenting approach and strategies taught by Dr. Karyn Purvis, and highlighted on Empowered To Connect.
Tags: Balance of Nurture & Structure, Behavioral Challenges, Brain Development, Connecting While Correcting, Creative Ways to Connect, Discipline, Fear, Giving Voice, Repairing Connection
Posted in Articles |
By: ETC Team
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Dr. Karyn Purvis and the Institute of Child Development have released their latest DVD entitled Attachment: Why It Matters.
This new DVD explores the critical role of attachment in a child’s development. In this 2-disk set, adoptive parents share their struggles and successes in pursuit of answers to the all-important questions about attachment. In addition, experts (such as Dr. Karyn Purvis, Dr. David Cross, and Dr. Dan Siegel) share fascinating and encouraging research, particularly in the field of neuroscience, that reveals how secure attachments can help counter the effects of early trauma.
Tags: Attachment, Balance of Nurture & Structure, Being Fully Present, Repairing Connection, TCU Institute of Child Development
Posted in Articles |
By: ETC Team
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Time-in (as opposed to time-out) is an important strategy to help parents learn to “connect while correcting” with their children.
When using the time-in strategy it’s critical to remember that time-in is not intended to punish your child. Instead, time-in is designed to help your child calm and regulate so that he can express his needs (or wants) appropriately. Also, be sure not to jump the gun and resort to time-in when another, lower level strategy (such as playful engagement or choices) might address the behavior more effectively.
But there are times when a time-in is precisely the strategy that is called for. So here are eight keys to help you implement an effective time-in with your child.
Tags: Attachment, Balance of Nurture & Structure, Behavioral Challenges, Being Fully Present, Connecting While Correcting, Creative Ways to Connect, Discipline, Giving Voice, Investment Model of Parenting, Older Children, Playful Interaction, Repairing Connection
Posted in Articles |