Empowered To Connect » Video

Using Time-In Instead of Time-Out

Michael Monroe — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:05:47 +0000

Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis talks about the use of ‘time-in’ instead of ‘time-out’ to effectively correct and train our children. As she explains, this important strategy promotes healthy development and secure connection, while at the same time dealing effectively with misbehavior.

Learning & Modeling How to Repair

Michael Monroe — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:41:24 +0000

Kids make plenty of mistakes as they grow and learn. But the truth is that parents do too! It’s important to try and “get it right” as parents, but it is equally important to “make it right” by repairing the mistakes we make along the way. Through our humble and genuine efforts to repair the disconnect that we as parents cause in our relationship with our kids, we have the opportunity to help them learn and grow — and to make our relationship with them stronger.

Watch as Amy Monroe talks about the importance of learning and modeling how to repair with your kids.

Giving the Gift of Voice

Michael Monroe — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:51:37 +0000

Giving ‘children from hard places’ the gift of voice allows them to replace fear with trust. Giving them voice enables them to learn how to ask for their needs appropriately. Giving them voice helps them to begin to express what they are feeling. But these children will not find their voice on their own — they need insightful and equipped parents that are willing to give them voice.

Watch as Michael Monroe explains what it means for parents to give their children the gift of voice.

It’s Not Over Until It’s Over

Michael Monroe — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:34:01 +0000

Watch as Michael Monroe explains two important principles that he learned from Dr. Karyn Purvis that are helping him and other adoptive and foster parents more effectively connect even while correcting.

The Importance of Repairing Your Mistakes

Michael Monroe — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:40:02 +0000

There is no such thing as a perfect parent — and that is actually good news, so long as parents are willing to focus on repair when they fail and make mistakes.

Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis explains why it is important for parents to repair their mistakes, and how repair can actually encourage growth and strengthen the relationship between parent and child.

What Every Adoptive Parent Should Know

Michael Monroe — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:19:12 +0000

In order to truly understand children from hard places — what they have experienced, the impact of those experiences and how we can help them heal and grow — it’s important that we understand some of the basics. That’s why we have put this collection of eight Empowered To Connect videos together — to introduce (or re-introduce) you to some of the most important basics that we believe every adoptive parent can benefit from.

Educating Others to Help Your Child

Michael Monroe — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:00:04 +0000

Building a solid team to help you love and care for your child is critically important. Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis encourages adoptive and foster parents to intentionally build a team, and offers suggestions on how they can effectively educate and prepare that team to speak with “one voice” as together you help your child heal and grow.

For more insight about building an effective team to better love and serve your child, read Lisa Qualls’ article, It Takes a Team.

Counting the Cost of the Journey

Michael Monroe — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:20:19 +0000

The adoption and foster care journey is filled with joy, blessings and beauty. But it is a journey also marked by loss, pain and challenges of various kinds. As a result, parents must be mindful to ‘count the cost’ of traveling this journey.

Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis encourages parents to ‘count the cost’ as they engage the adoption and foster care journey in a way that leads to true hope and healing.

Click here for more Empowered To Connect resources that focus on helping parents ‘count the cost’ of the adoption and foster care journey.

Effective Ways to Deal with Sleep Issues

Michael Monroe — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:51:15 +0000

Sleep related issues and challenges are all too common for children from hard places. Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis offers insights and strategies to help parents effectively respond to their child’s fear associated with sleep issues and build connection in the process.

When Sad Looks Mad

Michael Monroe — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:35:37 +0000

Children from hard places often experience pervasive and overwhelming feelings of sadness, and these feelings are often rooted, at least in part, in their personal history. The challenge for parents is that many times children express these feelings of sadness through anger and disrespect. In other words, their sad can often look mad — sometimes very mad.

Watch as Michael Monroe talks about some of his experiences with this, and encourages parents to look beyond the “mad” in order to help their children begin to identify, express and deal with their true feelings of sadness.

Be sure to also read Lisa Qualls’ article, Seeing Beyond Mad to the Real Sad.