Blog

Adoption is a beautiful way to create a family, but the journey doesn’t end with the finalization of paperwork. One option families can consider is open adoption, where birth parents and adoptive families maintain ongoing communication and a relationship. This approach offers numerous benefits that can positively impact everyone involved. Adoption Social Worker Nicole Rancourt, LSW, shares her personal experience with open adoption: From my experience as an adoptive parent who chose to keep our...

Did you know the cherished tradition of gift-giving taps into the core of human connection and positive psychology? Research shows that giving activates areas in the brain associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust. When we give, we feel a sense of generosity, community, and increased happiness.* On the receiving end, a gift is more than just an item — it’s a heartfelt message that reinforces the receiver’s sense of belonging and worth. Receiving a gift can help people feel that they...

As parents or guardians, we hope for our children to be kind and care for others. But teaching our children the value of self-care is just as crucial. Self-care isn’t just for adults — it’s a lifelong skill that our children and youth need to learn and practice. Here's how you can help your children understand and embrace self-care. What is Self-Care? Self-care is taking the time to do things that you enjoy, or that nurture and replenish you. Self-care doesn’t have to be something expensive like...

In today’s fast-paced world, maintaining optimal mental health can feel like a daunting task. With the constant demands of work, social life, and digital connectivity, it’s easy to overlook the fundamental factors that contribute to our overall well-being. This is why we at Maine Children’s Home (MCH) like to share information and tips about the Foundations of Optimum Mental Health — movement, nutrition, water intake, sleep, boundaries with electronic device usage and social media, and...

We live in a world where far too many families face economic uncertainties. In Maine, 42% of households struggle to make ends meet. Statistics like this can make us feel helpless, but there are ways we can help. Volunteering for programs that provide direct support to families facing financial hardship is not just an act of kindness, it’s a powerful catalyst for building resilient and healthy communities. In this article, we discuss the transformative impact of volunteering for such programs and...

Allison Grady participated in Maine Children’s Home’s young parent program, Journey Program, from August 2014 to June of 2017. In a recent interview, Allison shared her experience in the program and what it has meant to her: When I discovered I was pregnant, dropping out of high school seemed like the logical choice. It broke my grandmother’s heart to think I might never graduate, so she insisted I find an alternative. She ended up doing some research and found Journey Program at Maine Children...

Parental resilience is akin to a superpower. It helps parents navigate the challenges of parenthood with strength and grace. It forms the cornerstone of the Five Protective Factors for keeping children safe and healthy, playing a crucial role in fostering nurturing and supportive environments for families. In this article, we’ll explore practical strategies to cultivate parental resilience, empowering parents to unleash their superpowers on the journey of parenthood. 1. Self-Care: Health Begets...

Young parents, like all parents, benefit from having supportive resources and environments to help them navigate the challenges of parenthood and promote positive outcomes for both themselves and their children. Due to their early start, however, young parents may not yet have a foundation of life experiences and social connections that bolster what we call the “five protective factors” that support healthy children and families. In this article, we’ll discuss the five factors and why they are...

Throughout March, Social Work Month, Maine Children’s Home (MCH) has been reflecting on the unsung heroes in our society who are tirelessly offering support and championing change. Among these unsung heroes are social workers, individuals whose compassion knows no bounds and whose impact reverberates far beyond the confines of their titles. From counseling individuals through personal crises to advocating for systemic change, social workers play a multifaceted role that is indispensable to the...

After any unexpected disaster or crisis, families struggle with what they should say to children and how to help them cope. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages parents, teachers, childcare providers, and others who work closely with children to filter information about the event and present it in a way that their child can understand, adjust to, and handle in a healthy way. This blog entry explains helpful tips on how to filter information and talk to children of all ages and...

All of us want our lives and the lives of others to be safe and settled. However, there are times when unexpected tragedies or crises occur in the lives of our friends or acquaintances, or others in our wider community. We may not be directly involved in the event, yet we can be affected too. Unexpected tragedies can have a major impact on our mental health and the emotional well-being of our children. It can sometimes be difficult to know exactly how to cope and manage. In this blog entry, our...

When families have their basic needs met and have the following five protective factors* present in their lives, they are better able to support the well-being of their children. These five protective factors are: Parent Resilience - a parent’s ability to bounce back from hard times. Concrete Support - knowledge of helpful resources and supportive people. Social Connections - a network of emotionally supportive friends, family, and neighbors. Knowledge of Parenting Skills and Child Development -...

When Alaina Wolman recalls the birth of her first son, she says meeting him “was bliss.” “He was perfect. He was this little bundle of joy and, at that moment, I felt like I had found my purpose,” says Alaina. That moment was 22 years ago when Alaina was a junior in high school and a participant in Journey Program — Maine Children’s Home’s (MCH) program designed to empower teens and adults in their early 20s who are pregnant or parenting. From the moment I entered MCH as a teen I felt a sense of...

Mattering is the general sense of being significant, valued, and important in our relationships, work, and life. It is the idea that each person wants to feel as if they make a difference, are appreciated, and would be missed if they weren’t around. In this blog entry, we will discuss the four components of mattering, as explained by Canadian researcher Dr. Gordon Flett, and why mattering is so important. Understanding the four components of mattering can help us assess our own sense of...

“Protective Factors” are positive elements that optimize the health and well-being of children and minimize the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. As members of our communities, we all can help promote and strengthen protective factors for families around us. Here are the Five Protective Factors for healthier families: PARENTAL RESILIENCE Parental resilience is the ability of parents to effectively navigate stress, adversity, and trauma, which includes their ability to recognize when to ask...

Don’t we all sometimes wish that parenting and caregiving came with a handbook? In times of struggle (or even in times we’re just tired!), we may wish we had automatic responses to our children’s behavior that are only helpful and useful. Something close to a handbook is a list of 10 “life value terms” or “scripts” that Maine Children’s Home (MCH) loves to share from Dr. Karyn Purvis’s book The Connected Parent: Real Life Strategies for Building Trust and Attachment, and Theraplay®. These...

"Attachment style" is such an important concept for parents and caregivers to understand because it impacts every relationship we have in our lives, even with our own children. Parents or primary caregivers are responsible for the kind of attachment style our children develop, that will influence how our children connect with others throughout their entire lives. Attachment styles are learned in the first years of a child's life. At that early stage, a child's main goal is to learn how to be as...

As an agency that focuses on supporting children, youth and families and providing mental health treatment, it is important for the staff at Maine Children's Home to think about their own mental health. We are sharing some links regarding facts, and private mental health screening tools as resources should you be interested in exploring this further for your work, your family or yourself. We have always talked with clients and staff who are coming for treatment or who are interested in learning...

It is an honor to support children, families, and individuals whose lives have been impacted by traumatic experiences. Since this work is a large part of our mission, our team at Maine Children’s Home (MCH) has understood our responsibility in helping to change the conversation about being a trauma-informed organization. What is it that makes a difference? We do. We are small, but mighty. The answers to “what is it that makes a difference?” have the capacity to change lives, our agency, and our...

Maine Children’s Home (MCH) has been around for more than 122 years! The Waterville nonprofit provides a variety of programs for supporting families and children, and now it has launched a new look — logos and colors! This “new look” is the result of a thoughtful two-year-long process with a goal of strengthening the public’s understanding of MCH and the variety of services that the organization provides. The launch introduces a new system of logos for MCH and its programs, new primary program...

Maine Children’s Home has been facilitating adoptions since 1899. If you have been thinking about pursuing the adoption process but are not sure where to begin, Family Adoption Program at Maine Children’s Home is a great place to start! We offer free adoption informational meetings via Zoom and in-person on our campus on the last Wednesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. To sign up for these free informational meetings and to request an adoption inquiry packet, please fill out this form. These...

In my life, there are so many different strategies I use to bring myself back to balance and just re-charge when I feel “out-of-sorts”. Sometimes I go for a walk or read by the lake, other times I may get completely absorbed in a craft project or listen to my favorite musician. My strategies are unique to me and may look completely different for another person. Unfortunately, there are other times I use unhealthy strategies and might indulge in a family-size bag of Ruffles potato chips with a...

As the weather starts to warm up and the snow melts, it is easy to tell our children to go play outside, while we, as the caregivers, take a minute to ourself or stay inside doing those neglected chores. If we want to do something called “investment caregiving”, then we need to connect with our children outside, as well. Expressing that we want to spend time with our kids — engaging in activities that they enjoy — helps to show them that they are seen, heard, and valued. Here are some ways that...

Deep breathing can calm our bodies no matter where we are. In this brief video Meg, Director of our Family Counseling Center, shares an easy exercise that she does with her clients. This breathing exercise takes only a minute and has the power to calm our nervous system.

I was teaching my son about something the other day. As I felt as if I was really nailing this lesson on respect — talking with him eye-to-eye, at his eye level — he suddenly says “are we done yet?” Yes, I addressed the lack of respect that came with that question, but I also took the question as a clue. I was talking his ear off during a time when just a short phrase of a reminder of our “life value terms” would have sufficed. He knows what our expectations are. We teach them and talk about...

In my last blog, The Moral of the Story Part 1, I shared my grandmother’s gift of storytelling and how she used her gift to tell her grandchildren beautiful stories of their early years, of the family ‘laying their eyes’ upon her grandchildren for the first time; of adorable and silly antics we all did as little ones. I also shared how much these stories meant to my siblings and I. The stories told us we were treasured, longed for, precious for being our unique little selves, and that we...

When you get ready to have a foster child or an adoptive child in your home, you may face some difficulties if that child is from a different country, different nationality, or even a different socio-economic class than you are. When inviting children into your home and life, it is beneficial to bring parts of their culture and/or traditions into your family to create new traditions for your new family. Creating a safe place for important and loved history and traditions Having books that...

A lot of school systems are using a trauma-informed approach in classroom management and are seeing some positive results. Trauma-informed classrooms consider the adverse life experiences of vulnerable children and provide a safe environment that meets the physical and emotional needs of all children for optimal learning. Here are some great classroom ideas to create connection with students based on Trust-Based Relational Intervention® Principles and Strategies for Trauma Informed Classrooms. 1...

Each June, in the middle of the month on a Saturday morning, my heart would swell with love and excitement because my Grammie was back to spend the summer with us! Grammie would arrive from her job in Boston by bus late Friday night, and we children (all six of us) would be asked to give Grammie a little space to rest after her long journey to our home. That was a really hard task, as we hadn’t seen her since Christmas! Grammie’s summers with us were a special time. She was an incredible cook...

Over the past year, technology has been more readily available for children to use, what with remote learning being used for school. With COVID-19 precautions it is hard for children to play with their friends without including some form of electronics, whether it is video games, Google chat, Zoom, or social media outlets. A study was published by Hutton, Dudley, and Horowitz-Kraus (2019) about screen-based media and the effects on brain development. Their study found an association between...

Hopefully you’ve heard this message from Maine Children’s Home (MCH) before: You are SEEN! You are VALUED! You are HEARD! We truly hope that every single person who has an encounter with MCH in some way feels this. Whether you have benefited from a training with Connected Community, you’re a teen parent, a family who has worked with our adoption program, felt the joy of packing or receiving a Christmas box, or you’re an employee, it is our deepest desire that you know and feel you are SEEN...

There are many things to consider and think about when deciding on whether adoption is for your family. The overwhelming amount of information available online and through family/friends can make it hard to know where to begin. From our experience in talking with hundreds of families that are beginning the process of considering adoption, here are five tips that we help prospective adoptive parents explore as they begin their conversation about adoption. 1. Start asking yourself/yourselves...

2020 was an incredibly dynamic year for The Maine Children’s Home, as in every community and in every home. Although it was filled with many new challenges, it was also an inspiring year as so many individuals, groups and partners stepped forward to help us continue doing great work. Here are some key points we wanted to highlight: We implemented the $250,000 grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation to strengthen and grow our mission and impact. We honored the work at The Children’s Place for...

You’re probably wondering why in the world someone would title a Connected Community Blog “My Favorite T-shirt?” What does a T-shirt have to do with Trust Based Relational Intervention®, and what even makes for a favorite T-shirt? Well, let’s explore this comfy cozy T-shirt obsession. In the spring of 2017, the adoption staff at Maine Children’s Home (MCH) and I were introduced to Trust Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®). We were invited by adoptive parents to a live stream webinar where we...

In Part 1 of Adopting Harry we learned that Kate and Justin Russell’s decision to adopt from South Korea was inspired by a trip that Kate had taken to South Korea during her sophomore year in college and her own adoption story. In this entry, Part 2, we see how the Russells were able to bring home two-year-old Harry, their son, from South Korea during a global pandemic. Adopting a change in plans In 2019, Kate and Justin Russell expected the process to adopt their third child — two-year-old...

Gratitude, it is a word we hear quite a lot this time of year. By seeking moments of gratitude, one could say that we can cultivate more happiness in our lives. And as we live during such a chaotic time with this global pandemic, some of us are looking to feel grateful even for the simplest things: a nice cozy pair of socks; a hot cup of coffee in the morning; and especially our families' health. … The list is endless, right? During Thanksgiving, there can be a lot of expectations and...

Part 1 of Adopting Harry While Kate and Justin Russell started their search for adoption agencies in early 2019, their plans to adopt two-year-old Harry from South Korea began long before — about 15 years ago. Kate was a 20-year-old sophomore at Colby college when she heard about a grant awarded to students who were proposing an international research project or internship. She saw this as her opportunity to travel and learn more about her birth country — South Korea — where she had been adopted...

I have written and re-written this entry many times, trying to find the words for a topic I feel so strongly about yet also feel so challenged in articulating those thoughts. I have been an adoptive parent for four years now and I am consistently humbled by the act of parenting. I am constantly learning, growing, and shifting to be the best parent I can be to my son. I believe this is part of what it means to be a parent. Many families created through adoption are transracial. For me, this is an...

A child’s first language is play. As adults, we sometimes forget how to play and be playful with our children because we are so caught up in the adult stressors that occur. When our children are being disrespectful or defiant, it is really hard for us to respond playfully because disrespect and defiance are not the desired behaviors that we want for our children. Dr. Karyn Purvis has done research on how connecting with our children in playful ways, even when disciplining them, will help them to...

Parenting is hard, and under the best of circumstances there are incredible highs and devastating lows along the way. Right? That said, parenting children from hard places adds another layer of challenge. These unique and resilient children have often experienced past neglect, abuse, abandonment or have had multiple home placements prior to joining their forever families. Their behavior might often seem bizarre and erratic to those who don’t understand that their social development was hindered...

As an adoption social worker at Maine Children’s Home, I’ve seen parents or caregivers who have given up hope that their child is capable of healing from past trauma. I’ve heard frustrated parents or caregivers have said they feel like they are being “held hostage” by the challenging survival behaviors their child exhibits. And, I’ve felt the anguish from parents and caregivers who have had the courage to say: “I love my child, but I really don’t like them at all.” We know that most children...

Our children are back in school under unique and challenging circumstances – whether that’s in-person, remote learning, or some hybrid model. Worrying about their safety and trying to determine how school is working for them can be stressful – both for children and parents. As parents/caregivers, we have the difficult job of trying to co-regulate children during this stressful time, as well as regulate ourselves! The Empowering Principles from Trust Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) teach...

Over the past few years, I’ve started wearing reading glasses. It started when one day I looked at the back of the ibuprofen bottle to determine if I should take one pill or two for my headache and couldn’t read the label. I decided there was something wrong with the label and handed it to my husband for a second look. Guess what? There was nothing wrong with the label. Rather, it was the ‘lens’ through which I was viewing it. Sometimes our eyes need help with ‘lenses’ to see more clearly. So...

As parents and caregivers, we always want the absolute best for our kids. We innately know the amazing things they are capable of and set high goals/expectations for them. After all, we know they can be SO amazing. We sometimes subconsciously set the bar high the first thing in the morning, trying to set that mood for the day. So, what happens when we see those expectations are not being met? We ask more of them, knowing they can do better. Except, what happens when we feel like a broken record...

This week Jordan spends time talking about when and how to apologize to your children and why that apology is important. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

If you’ve ever had a moment, or maybe lots of moments, where you felt you just bombed as a parent, and you really started to wonder “Am I worth a darn? The most important job I have in life and I can’t even get it right with my parenting?” At The Connected Community at The Maine Children’s Home, we want you to push a pause button right there and tell yourself, “I am worthy. I am worthy just by virtue of being human - all human beings are worthy of being seen, heard and valued.” Please know this...

This week Jordan talks about appropriate conversations to have around your children. As adults, who have to have very grown-up conversations about tough things we often don't think about tempering what we talk about and when but it's important to consider the fact that children are very concrete thinkers and hearing hard things can be very challenging for a young child. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

Those famous words, “You can't pour from an empty cup” Self-care. We all know the importance of it, we all desire it, and we are told often and seeing more often the information about how it can be helpful to us when caring for others, especially as parents caregivers grandparents, etc. of kiddos with extra needs. But how does one do self-care during a pandemic? Especially when our “community” and support systems are likely not as available. We typically might have 2-3 hours while our littlest...

The phone system for The Maine Children’s Home has been damaged and a number of our phone connections are not working. We are working with our repair team but will not be able to make all updates and repairs until we receive new equipment tomorrow afternoon. We expect to have our phone system repaired by the end of the day tomorrow (7/21). In the meantime, most of our voicemail systems are working so you can leave messages. Clients of the Turner Family Counseling Center may use the numbers you...

This week Jordan answers a parent question: "how do I show equal attention to all of my children?" Jordan dives into why it's important to show your children equal attention and give you a trick to navigating multiple children competing for your time. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

Wouldn’t it be nice if children came with instruction manuals? Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)® and Dr. Karyn Purvis have discussed the I.D.E.A.L. response to help parents with teaching children about learning how to interact appropriately with others. The IDEAL response stands for: IMMEDIATE within 3 seconds. DIRECT Be near the child and make eye-contact, model how you want them to respond. EFFICIENT Responding to “low” level behaviors with low-level responses, catching it low and...

We know that parenting or caring for children from hard places requires a very specific set of parenting skills that may require modifying the way you are programmed to parent or care for children. Perhaps you have closely modeled your caregiving or parenting style to that of your own parents or maybe someone else in your life whom you greatly admired. Being mindful or self-aware of your caregiving style is the first step toward positively reshaping the challenging behavior of children who have...

As adults we are navigating many of the most difficult times we have seen in decades, and now as parents/caregivers, we are looking for more language, words, resources, tools, etc. to teach our children about all the happenings around them. Children often learn through play, through experience, and through us as parents/caregivers. We have had the honor of staying connected to one of the amazing girls we have helped welcome into her forever home from her birth country of China. At a young age...

One of the most important things that contribute to our well-being and to the well-being of our children is finding large and small things to be grateful for each day. This week, Jordan talks about the importance of this short, but important act and explains a little bit about why it's important. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

Children who come from hard places such as early trauma, abuse, and neglect, have different ways of responding behaviorally than children who were given a healthy start with a parent or caregiver who responded to their needs appropriately and consistently. When children who do not have an attentive, attuned parent or caregiver who, for example, does not respond when they cry as an infant or young child, who may leave them unattended in their crib, or unfed, unchanged, or physically or...

Apologizing when we do something that hurts someone else is one of the most important things we teach children. This week Jordan talks about two things to keep in mind when teaching our children to say "I'm sorry." Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

Parents and Caregivers of the World! Do you ever feel the need to have just a moment (or two or three) to yourselves to pause, regroup, refresh, and recharge those caregiving batteries? We here at The Connected Community at The Maine Children’s Home have some amazing friends and colleagues at the Halo Project in Oklahoma, who’ve shared this wonderful video on a strategy to use when needing to take a break and get some much needed time to oneself - not easily done in these COVID-19 times! We’d...

Right now, for a child, the news can sound and look scary. Fundamentally what they need is to know that the significant adults in their lives love them and will do everything they can to keep them safe. This week, Jordan talks about how to talk to your child about the police brutality, protests, and riots they are seeing in the news and hearing the significant adults in their lives talk about. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

Chores are a great way to include your child in the running of your household, they help a child contribute to the household and take pride in being a part of a family. This week Jordan talks about a couple of things to keep in mind while encouraging your child to take on chores. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

Sometimes as parents we do not understand our children. This is especially true for children from “hard places” as they have experienced horrific things that have deeply affected them. This can make connecting with our children very difficult. As others from the Connected Community @ MCH have said, allowing kids to make choices, giving them redos, teaching them about respect, and how to regulate their emotions will help our children to have an increase in felt safety. Children today like a...

We recently celebrated Mother’s Day and as always, my thoughts are focused on the joy of being a mom and gratitude for the woman who made me a Mama when she chose me to parent her son. Mother’s Day can be both a day of great joy and a day filled with complex feelings for many women. There are those who have challenging relationships with their mothers and those whose mothers have died. There are those who have had children die, had miscarriages, and those who had to face the tough decision to...

Discipline can be a tricky subject because everyone has a unique opinion on how to set limits for children and hold them accountable when they breach those limits. This week I talk about setting those limits and some things to keep in mind when having to discipline children. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

Oh boy, here comes the million-dollar question: How can you proactively convey effective, important life values without a long drawn out lecture and the subsequent fear of being ‘tuned out’ by your child? You could try using consistent short questions or statements with a playful or neutral tone to reshape behavior. Ideally, these concise phrases have big meanings and they give parents, caregivers, and children the language to communicate, understand, and learn valuable life skills. The goal is...

There are many ways to create a family. There is the traditional path that looks something like boy meets girl, boy marries girl, boy and girl have children. It is a beautiful path to parenthood and one that no one really questions. There may be questions around timing but not questions related to the path of creating your family. Straying from the traditional path can happen for lots of reasons-simple desire to do things differently, sexual orientation, gender identity, health issues, age, or...

This week's vlog topic comes straight from a parent. Our kids are mad and sad because they're grieving the loss of their normal lives. It is normal for them to be angry about not being able to see their friends and teachers. It is our job as parents to normalize their feelings, offer comfort, and share with them the good things that they can do, like spending extra time with you. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

Do you ever wish you could do something over? Like, get a second chance, a "re-do”? Do it. Try giving yourself grace and try again. These times are stressful. Maybe you find yourself being more impatient, frustrated - try to stay presently mindful and notice it. Take a breath, ask to start over and try again. Or just give yourself a re-do. Maybe you snap back at your spouse or child with a voice that seems frustrated - ask for a re-do, a try again. This will not be easy to do, to be vulnerable...

At this point in the school year, children are probably feeling a bit defeated by all of the rapid changes. This feeling can make it difficult to focus and difficult to figure out school work. This week Jordan talks about a small but powerful word: YET. Why the word is important and simple ways to incorporate it into ours and our children's approach to living in the midst of a pandemic. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

Children from ‘hard places’ such as those experiencing abusive and traumatic experiences have had little power to control what is happening in their lives. Powerlessness and hopelessness are unfortunately much more the norm than having their thoughts, feelings, and needs heard by a safe, trusted adult caregiver. One of the most powerful gifts we can give children who have not had the experience of voicing their needs and being heard is to give them choice. Offering a child the choice of “would...

It is easy to always focus on the things that are children are not doing right, this week, though Jordan explores things to keep in mind around offering criticism and praise. It is always important to accentuate the positive things your children are doing for all kinds of reasons. The biggest one, though, is that your voice can become their internal voice and can influence their self-esteem later on. Weekly vlogs are done by Jordan Shaw, graduate intern for the Turner Family Counseling Center.

? It always feels like somebody’s watching me ? Parents, it probably does always feel like “Somebody’s Watching You” as the truth is, someone always is! Your children are watching and learning through behavior that you model- good, not so good, and everything in between. It always brings a smile to see a little one walking alongside their mom or dad, and you can see the physical movement, body position, often facial expression, and so on, matches pretty well what their parent or caregiver is...

I was asked recently if I would be willing to write something for an adoption blog “as an adoptive mother”- things I wish I knew before I adopted my child. What immediately went through my mind were the very words used in the request “as an adoptive mother.” I am the type of person who LOVES that my child is adopted and LOVES the title of adoptive mom. While in so many ways I am a mom like every other mother out there who has birthed their child, adoption also changes what being a mother looks...

Self-care is important and while we’re trying to help our children manage their emotions it is important to pay attention to our own needs. This week, Jordan Shaw, graduate intern at the Turner Family Counseling Center, spends some time talking about self-care, what it is, and why it’s important.

How’s your engine running? A strange question to ask your child, right? Well, not really. Lots of young children have been exposed at school to similar concepts which are simple ways of helping children figure out if “their engine” is running in the blue (low energy or even sad), green (just the right amount of energy, feeling good), or red (super high energy, or even mad/angry). Truly, this is a great help in teaching a child the skill of noticing how one is doing- am I low energy or even sad...

In this weekly vlog series, Jordan Shaw, graduate intern at our Turner Family Counseling Center, talks about the importance of schedules, spending time outdoors, and reassuring parents that they are, in fact, doing a great job, even though they may not get it right one hundred percent of the time.

One of the things that may surprise you is that band-aids can be a truly magical healing tool - it’s almost like you can’t have enough of them in your parenting toolkit. We know from our own experiences as children that when we fall down and someone notices our ‘outside hurt’ (scrape, cut, etc) and offers to help with a band-aid, this is a powerful act of care. An interesting off-shoot of this is, sometimes band-aids are helpful and necessary for ‘inside hurts’ as well. When a child has an...

Safety: A feeling. Or as we call it, Felt Safety... We all know about keeping our children safe: keeping a roof over their heads, putting food in their bellies, giving them lots of fresh water to drink, keeping the doors locked at night, not taking candy from strangers, washing hands. This is physical safety for sure, and we can help children know logically that they are safe. But what about emotional safety? How do we help our kids know in their hearts- their whole beings - that they are truly...

In this week's video, Jordan Shaw, intern at Turner Family Counseling Center, talks about the importance of schedules both for you and your child; and, what to do if, after creating one, you completely blow your schedule.

In this week's video, Jordan Shaw, graduate intern at Turner Family Counseling Center, talks about the importance of meeting your child where they're at, briefly touch on schedules and remind you of something that I hope you already know.