This 16 video series (developed in partnership with the TCU Institute of Child Development) offers seven insights and seven gifts that are highly relevant for all parents who are parenting or considering adopting or fostering children from hard places. ETC has also developed a discussion guide for this video series, ideal for use either individually or in small groups. You can download the Insights & Gifts Discussion Guide free of charge.
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:
Following the war in Viet Nam, American soldiers came home with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and for the first time, we began to recognize the deep impact of chronic and acute stress. Such stress reaches deep and wide, affecting body mind and spirit of the man, woman, or child suffering from the trauma.
Over 100 people joined Texans Care at the Texas Capitol on October 3rd to hear Dr. Karyn Purvis speak on The Attachment Dance: How Abuse and Neglect Drive Attachment Problems.
Opening the presentation, Dr. Purvis analyzed drawings that children had made of their families and pointed out indicators that a child either feels a part of a healthy family unit or disconnected from other household members. She then explained the attachment cycle and how it affects a child behaviorally and neurochemically when he or she expresses a need that is met or, conversely, when that need is not met. The impact of this cycle on a child’s behavior, self-regulation, and mental health were discussed, as well as the importance of touch and sensory stimulation in forming healthy attachment between a baby and caregiver.