Empowered To Connect

Archive for “Discipline”

Engaging Food Battles with Connection in Mind

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Monday, June 20, 2011

Food battles can be challenging for any parent, and especially for adoptive and foster parents. Many children from hard places struggle with food-related issues and parents are often at a loss to know how best to respond to these challenges.

Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis offers insights to help parents engage “food battles” while keeping connection in mind.

Connecting While Correcting

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Friday, June 10, 2011

In March 2011, Tapestry hosted an event entitled Connecting While Correcting. This event focused on helping adoptive and foster parents understand the need for connecting with our children, even when correction is required.

Amy & Michael Monroe began the event by presenting some of the key concepts and strategies that can equip parents to connect while correcting. Click here to download their presentation. The second half of the event featured a panel of adoptive and foster parents who shared their experiences and what they are learning as they seek to connect while correcting.

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Understanding Sensory Processing

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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Sensory processing is an important topic for anyone who loves and cares for a child from a hard place. Beacuse of their histories, children from hard places often experience altered brain development which impacts the way in which they process sensory data.

In this brief video, Dr. Karyn Purvis explains what sensory processing is and why an understanding of it is vital for adoptive and foster parents.

New DVD: Trust-Based Parenting

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Friday, May 27, 2011

TRUST-BASED PARENTING: Creating Lasting Changes in Your Child’s Behavior is the latest DVD release from TCU’s Institute of Child Development, and is currently available at a substantial discount for a limited time. The Trust-Based Parenting DVD offers in-depth training for parents of children with trauma-based behavioral issues, and is a must-have for adoptive and foster parents, church ministry leaders and professionals.

Handouts from Denver ETC Conference

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Monday, April 18, 2011

As promised, here are the handouts (containing the text of Dr. Purvis’ slides) from the recent Empowered To Connect Conference in Denver, Colorado:

● Handout for The Attachment Dance

● Handout for Empoweing Our Kids to Succeed: Understanding Sensory Processing and the Neurochemistry of Fear

● Handout for Foundations for Behavioral Change

Create a Balance of Nurture & Structure

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Monday, March 28, 2011

Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis explains why children from hard places need a balance of both nurture and structure in order to feel safe, develop trust and heal. This video is part of the Insights and Gifts video series, which includes a small group discussion guide that you can download here.

Read Chapter 6 from Created To Connect: A Christian’s Guide to The Connected Child for more about why balancing nurture and structure is important for children from hard places.

Give Your Child Shared Power

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis explains the importance of sharing appropriate levels of power with children from hard places in order to help them learn to trust and to heal. This video is part of the Insights and Gifts video series, which includes a small group discussion guide that you can download here.

Give Your Child Playfulness

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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis focuses parents on the need to use playful engagement to help disarm their child’s fear response and enable a stronger connection. This video is part of the Insights and Gifts video series, which includes a small group discussion guide that you can download here.

To learn more about the importance of playful engagement and how parents can use it to both connect and correct, check out the Playful Interaction DVD from the TCU Institute of Child Development.

The Privilege of Saying Yes

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Friday, February 25, 2011

One of the things I’ve learned in my journey as a mom is the need for me to raise the level of nurture I bring to parenting in order to help my children build trust. My children need to trust that I will consistently meet their needs in ways that help them understand that they are precious and that their voice matters. Telling them I will meet their needs helps them to “know it;” showing them (over and over and over again) helps them experience it and learn to trust.

I’ve learned that one of the best ways to accomplish this is to give my children as many “yes’s” as I can. It is through my “yes’s” that I can best give my kids this gift of trust. In order to improve in this area, during a recent Saturday at home with my kids I committed to giving them as many “yes’s” as possible. Trust me, this wasn’t easy, but I need the practice and they need this gift. Throughout the course of that day I was intentional about catching myself before each and every “no” I was about to give. As I stopped to think every time I considered saying “no,” I asked myself a simple question: Can I give my child a joyful “yes” instead?

Empowering, Connecting & Correcting Principles DVD

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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Institute of Child Development at TCU has created a nearly two-hour presentation available on DVD in which Dr. Karyn Purvis explains her research-based approach with children who come from what she calls “hard places.” This DVD offers a very helpful overview of the three principles that serve as the foundation of Dr. Purvis’ approach to help parents better understand how to connect with their children in order to help them heal and reach their highest potential.

In this presentation, Dr. Purvis explains how harm during the critical stages of brain growth can cause significant disruptions in a child’s development and behaviors, and offers strategies to overcome these challenges. This insightful and educational presentation is designed for parents, ministry leaders and adoption and foster care professionals alike.

You can order the DVD online from the Institute of Child Development for a price of $30 (plus shipping). To view a preview of the DVD, click here.