Blog Roll

With record breaking temperatures and no relief in sight, a day at the pool is a great way to temporarily beat the heat.  Swimming provides kids with hours of entertainment and is a much anticipated summer pastime.   It is also good exercise and a fun, inexpensive recreational activity that the entire family can enjoy together.
   
Tragically, thousands of children are injured or die each year in swimming related accidents that could have been avoided or prevented.  Even older children who are strong swimmers can become seriously injured or killed when basic safety rules are not followed.  By establishing and adhering to a few general guidelines, you can help to keep your child safe in the water.  (Read More)

Living in a diverse society, families come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and experiences.  Being an adoptee can bring up identity issues for children and teens. Transracial adoption is when an adoptee is of a different cultural and/or racial heritage from their adoptive parents.  With transracial adoption, an adoptee’s identity formation can become more complex.  With that in mind, how can parents honor, support and connect with cultural and ethnic experiences for their child and family?  This may seem like a challenge so let’s explore some ideas and strategies.

Developing a lifelong love of reading begins at home, and it is never too early (or too late) to start.   After adopting our children as toddlers, reading aloud to them provided an informal opportunity to spend one-on-one time, away from the distractions and pressures of daily life.  The intimacy of the process helped to strengthen and solidify our growing attachment in a way that was non-threatening and fun.  My children looked forward to the routine of choosing special books each night and settling comfortably into my lap as I read each one aloud.

It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over and our kids will soon be returning to school.  In my household, the anticipation of starting a new school year is usually met with a mixture of excitement, anxiety and fear of the unknown.  The days of sleeping in, staying up later, and relaxing at the pool will soon be replaced with alarm clocks, bedtimes, and after-school activities and homework.  Letting go of the carefree days of summer and transitioning back into schedule driven school mode can be challenging for children and parents.  Even children who genuinely enjoy school tend to feel anxious about things as simple as what to wear and finding their classroom on the first day, to more complex issues like being popular and making good grades.  

Here are some things parents can do to make the remaining days of summer more enjoyable, and the return to school a little less stressful.

Common among adopted children, food issues can be one of the many challenges experienced by adoptive parents.  Issues can include things like a strong aversion to eating certain foods, being extremely picky or fixated on certain foods, binge eating, or food hoarding.  The reasons underlying eating and food issues are complex and different for each child.

It is normal and quite common for children to feel anxious in response to life stressors.  Anxiety in children can stem from external events or situations (problems with peers, changes in the family, too many activities, or moving to a new home) or internal feelings and pressures (wanting to do well in school, feeling different from peers, a fear of making mistakes).  Because children may not always recognize or clearly articulate that something is bothering them, it is important for parents to recognize the warning signs of stress and anxiety.