Huge strides have been made in the adoption community over the last 30 years. Thanks to research, and the voices of many adoptees and birth/first parents, education is readily available and understandings and perspectives have grown exponentially. This is not to say things are perfect, but the adoption triad has become a focal point within most training for future adoptive ... Read More
Dear Friends & Family: What I Want You to Know about Adoption and Foster Care
Dear Friends & Family, It's true. I chose this life and everything that has accompanied it since. I chose to parents kids who require extra time to celebrate their culture. Attend cultural events. Cook new foods, and continually educate myself on a culture not my own. I chose to have children who come with another extended family of their own. I chose to ... Read More
Navigating Back to School: Through the Adoption and Foster Care Lens
The new school year is almost upon us, and for many of us, it may have already begun. It marks the return to reality and for so many of our kids (and ourselves) a wave of emotions begins to arise at the thought of returning. Some of you may be ready to celebrate the return to quieter days, and others may feel sadness at the thought of summer coming to an end. Whether we have ... Read More
Foster Parents and Foster Parent Supports Wanted!
The need for foster parents in both Canada and the United States has hit an all-time high. With close to 80,000 children in foster care in Canada, and 400,000 children in the United States, it is evident the situation is dire. In Canada in particular, we are facing many aging foster parents nearing retirement, and less younger applicants signing up. On top of low recruitment ... Read More
Advocacy in Foster Care
Advocacy is a useful tool in seeking change when change needs to happen. I am a rather passionate person, and when there is a cause worth fighting for, I am there. These days I tend to focus on those topics near and dear to my life (Adoption, foster care and FASD primarily), but if I could I would add a lot more to that list. I found a recent quote from A Wide Line encompassing ... Read More
The #1 Thing You’re Messing Up During Your Child’s Meltdown
We've all been there. Playing with our kids at home, our child gets triggered and ALL chaos ensues. Navigating a meltdown can be hard. This can be a common occurrence for many parents, but when you're parenting a child with special needs, it can reach a whole new level. I think it is safe to say many of us avoid triggers like the plague. Recently I attended an ... Read More
Local Adoption or International Adoption: Which One is Right?
The great adoption debate: Should you adopt locally or overseas (and if you're not sure about adoption in general, find out if adoption is wrong here)? The judgment of others is readily available when you decide to move forward with adoption, as everyone comes forward with opinions about where you should adopt from. It is ironic, however, that 99% of the time these opinions are ... Read More
12 Things You Shouldn’t Say to Adoptive or Foster Parents
It was a beautiful evening as my best friend and I sat in our vehicle, parked along the river, ready to go for a leisurely stroll (so weird I use to do things leisurely!). We were mid conversation, when a man who looked to be in his mid-fifties walked up to my vehicle and knocked on the window. Thinking he wanted directions, I rolled the window down. Now for clarification, we ... Read More
I’m Dying: Now What? The Importance of Self-Care in Adoption and Foster Care
Hi! My name is Amanda and I am dying. Anyone else? I think it is safe to say, that many of us on the adoption or foster care journey are living a life of chaos and are pretty worn out, hanging on by a mere thread. We may have begun the downward spiral of talking to garbage cans, eating fish crackers off the floor for dinner, resorting to basic tomfoolery in our spare ... Read More
Understanding our Children with Siblings with Special Needs
Raising a child with special needs can be arduous and unyielding. It can somehow muster the most introverted of parents to take arms for advocacy, change, support, and acceptance while simultaneously throwing the most extroverted on their knees in humility. It is riddled with highs and lows, laughter and tears, and though it can take everything out of you, it somehow finds the ... Read More
The Importance of Support in Adoption and Foster Care
As many of us travel along this journey of adoption and foster care, few of us will make it without finding ourselves knee deep in the trenches. It is while in those trenches that we truly realize the importance of support in adoption and foster care. Rose Colored Glasses Daniel and I first started the adoption process quite young. He was only 19 and I ... Read More
Foster Parent’s Take Strike! 7 Facts We Want You to Know! (Part II)
Last post I began our strike notice with the first 4 facts foster parents want you to know. Today, I continue with the last 3 and hopefully help foster a new understanding of the journey we walk. 5. Children are Not Resilient Many professionals are quick to throw around the term "resilient" when it comes to children experiencing trauma, neglect, abuse, and multiple ... Read More
Foster Parent’s Take Strike! 7 Facts We Want You To Know! (Part 1)
The time has come for Foster Parent's to take strike. Daniel and I signed up to become foster parents nearly 13 years ago. We were just a couple of naive but passionate newly weds, parenting our newly adopted infant son. We had hopes and dreams of becoming long term foster parents, starting off as safe baby foster home for prenatally exposed infants, and eventually moving ... Read More
Urgent Need! Send Help!
As Christians, we are often pulled towards the word "help." It is a deeply routed foundation in the Christian faith, and has been the backbone of many church programs. The biblical basis for this is evident, and the mandate to love our neighbors is clear. Our churches are devoted to a multitude of programs to help those in need, including single mothers, seniors, divorcees, ... Read More
The Top 10 Biggest Myths about Adoption Explained
One in three people have considered adopting, yet only 2% have actually done it. That is a HUGE discrepancy! The two main reasons people have disclosed on why they don't adopt is fear and believing myths about adoption. Today we are going to break down some of those myths, reduce some of your fears and hopefully get that 2% to increase! The Top 10 Biggest Myths About Adoption ... Read More
Is Adoption Wrong?
I am a social worker. I've also been an adoptive parent for almost 14 years and a foster parent for almost 13. Over the past several years, however, with the creation of Facebook groups in particular, I have seen a shift in the way adoption and foster care is both discussed and viewed. Adoption ethics have come to the forefront of many discussions in both positive and negative ... Read More
An Open Letter from the Mother of a Bully
We all know one. That child at school who calls other kids names. The one that says rude comments. The one that doesn't play fair during games, or tries to control who gets to play with the group. As a parent seeing your child's feelings get hurt, this can be heartbreaking, challenging, and down right infuriating. Hi! I'm the parent of that bully. But instead of saying ... Read More
DNA Tests and Adoption
The latest rage to hit my social media is DNA tests. I've seen countless posts and comments on people taking DNA tests to find out more about their heritage and health information. While it is popular for all people alike, it holds a special meaning in the adoption community and was one wagon I was eager to jump on. This page contains affiliate links meaning I ... Read More
Why You Should Reward Your Child for Bad Behavior
You're standing in your kitchen washing dishes when suddenly your 10 year old child comes walking in. He asks if he can have an ice cream sandwich. Dinner is in 5 minutes so you calmly let him know not right now, but after dinner. Unfortunately, this tried and true method of delaying the "yes" doesn't work and your child begins to meltdown. I'm not talking your average ... Read More
Meeting My Child’s Mother
Several weeks ago we had a momentous event in our family. We met my son's birth mom. It was amazing, wonderful and filled with more emotions than I could have ever imagined. Rewind to almost 14 years ago when we first began our adoption journey. We were only 19 and 20 years old at the time and just babies ourselves. In our adoption training session they had originally asked ... Read More