Giving and receiving love may seem like an easy thing, but for many adopted and foster kids it is hard. They have given love to people only to have those people disappear from their lives or not return their love. They have received love only to be moved to a new home, or the “love” they received was not love at all.
These kids are confused about what it means to give and receive love.
This video collection contains ten short video interview sessions with Dr. Karyn Purvis and Michael Monroe, offering helpful insights and practical advice in response to many of the the questions that are commonly asked by adoptive and foster parents.
Watch the first video in this series – How Do I Handle Manipulation & Control – or click here to watch all ten videos.
Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis answers the challenging question that many adoptive parents ask: is it adoption related or just typical child behavior? In this brief video she offers helpful insights and encourages parents to always be mindful of their child’s history.
Parents often struggle to blend the parenting approach they used before they adopted with the trust-based parenting approach they are now using to meet the unique needs of a child from a hard place.
Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis explains how parents can effectively meet the needs of all of their children — biological, adopted, foster — by using a parenting approach that focuses on building trust. In addition, Dr. Purvis offers valuable insight to help parents explain changes in their parenting approach to their older biological child, and encourages parents to give these children a voice as the family welcomes new children through adoption and embraces their needs.
Today is a Friday, and I am weary. There seems to be an endless demand for my attention. The piles of clean laundry are indistinguishable from the piles of dirty laundry. The toys take over any available floor space making simple tasks like walking difficult. The dishes spill over onto the counter. The children grab and scream and cry and scowl. And I try to hold on to the last bits of my sanity as we struggle through the day.
Parenting is hard. It requires more of me than I want to give. It requires sacrifice with lengthy delays on gratification. I get to the end of the week, and I am fatigued. I am weary and run down. I bite my tongue from modeling disrespect, refrain from doling out justice, and find the energy to say one more time, “Let’s try that again with respect.”
Watch as Michael Monroe talks about the need for adoptive dads to partner with their wives to work together as they lead their children toward hope and healing.
It is critically important for moms and dads to get on the same page and stay on the same page when it comes to handling the challenges and issues that come up in the parenting journey. This is especially true for adoptive and foster parents as they begin to parent in a way that is focused on healing and connection.
Watch as Amy & Michael Monroe talk about what it means to be on the same page as a couple in order to love your children well.
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.
Watch as Michael Monroe explains two important principles that he learned from Dr. Karyn Purvis that can help him and other adoptive and foster parents more effectively connect even while correcting.
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 is 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.
Click here to watch all eigth videos.