Positive Adoption

Are you thinking about homeschooling your kiddos this school year? Or maybe you just need some encouragement in the middle of your homeschooling journey. We’ve got you covered. Join our group of experienced homeschool Moms for Homeschool 101 on the Positive Adoption Podcast. There’s a lot of apprehension in the world today and more when you consider embarking on a new journey that’s totally outside your comfort zone. We get it. It’s a big decision and a lot to consider. Once you decide , it’s only the beginning.  Hopefully, we four women baring our souls and sharing our experiences will help you along the way. Grab a cup of coffee and join us!

Last week Kathleen shared part 2 of the topic- What do we believe about our kiddos? This week she continues the series. She picks up in the middle of the conversation - What are we teaching our kids by what we say to them or our actions? This week she adds some simple scripts you can use for reframing your beliefs. Grab a cup of coffee and join this recovering codependent Mom.

Last week Kathleen started the topic- What do we believe about our kiddos? This week she continues the series. She picks up in the middle of the conversation - What is one thing said to you as a child that you have carried into adulthood? What are we teaching our kids by what we say to them or our actions? Kiddos who have experienced trauma already come with their own set of beliefs. Neglect says, “You don’t exist.” Abuse says, “You don’t matter.” How are we helping them reframe their beliefs? How are we reframing our beliefs about them? Grab a cup of coffee and join this recovering codependent Mom.

Think back to your childhood- What’s one thing you heard about yourself? What’s one thing that was said to you? What’s one implied belief, practice, or statement? Now think about right now- Which ones of those are you still living out? What about our kiddos? What are we telling them verbally or by our actions about them that will follow them into adulthood? What do we believe about them on a daily basis? Remember, we are mirrors for our children. They see themselves through our eyes. Grab a cup of coffee and join Kathleen, a recovering codependent Mom, as she introduces the topic - What do you believe about your kiddos?

There is a lot going on in the world and we can begin to wonder what can we do? What should we repent of today? What is the current social cause we should care about? For the last two weeks, Kathleen has been talking about summer reading for teens and then kiddos. This week it is Mom’s turn. We can pendulum swing from trying to carry it all to isolating and shutting ourselves off. What does this have to do with reading? Let’s get back to the basics, repenting of our personal sin, reading the Bible, and try the two other book suggestions -You Who and Eve in Exile. Grab a cup of coffee and join Kathleen for some encouragement and God-confidence in this crazy time.

Summer is a great time to read. It’s time for porch swings, tents in the backyard, sitting on the back deck, and impromptu tea parties. Afternoons are made for reading! Last week Kathleen shared a few summer reading recommendations for teens. This week she shares some for kiddos. Grab a cup of coffee and join her!

Reading a book or two for the summer may seem passe. With social media feeding your teen all sorts of information- tear down the monuments, March, wear a mask, don’t wear one, It’s important to have some conversations. Often those snippets we see hear/read/ are not great springboards because they start with an argument. We don’t want to argue all summer with our teens. We can start with someone else’s story. Reading someone else’s story opens up the place to start a conversation. You can ask the questions such as- why do you think he did this? What was going on at the time that would have hindered him. Why do you think he made the right/wrong decision. We can put ourselves in someone else’ shoes. We can learn from joining the great conversation. Grab a cup of coffee and join Kathleen as she shares two books - one a historical fiction and the other a future dystopian. Here’s the link to the “Instead Of” Tips Course.

Is your teen struggling with regulation? Is he/she able to sort about his/her feelings on the current circumstances? If you said, yes, this is for you! The thought of giving some teens a blank journal and asking them to write their feelings, may leave you shaking your head and thinking, this lady doesn’t know MY teen. I get it. Some teens don’t like to write or talk about their feelings. But before you check out of this episode, hang on, at least listen to my suggestions and try them. Grab a cup of coffee and a journal an join Kathleen!

How are your kids coping during this difficult time? They may be feeling ambiguous loss and chronic stress. This can trigger cortisol levels and cause anxiety and suppress the immune system. We adults need some coping mechanisms during this difficult time and so do our kiddos. Journaling is a healthy way to process. So why not teach our kids. Grab a cup of coffee and join Kathleen as she shares three tips on how to teach kids to cope through journaling.

It’s difficult to articulate what’s going on in the world as an adult. Imagine how difficult it is for kids. As tensions rise in our nation, it’s difficult to sort generalizations from truth. Our kids need the tools to cope just as much as we do, especially if they have experienced trauma. Grab a cup of coffee and join me as I ramble through some thoughts and points on helping your kids cope.

Right now we are living in a season when the simplest tasks can seem overwhelming. Going to the grocery stores isn’t the chore it used to be. Now it’s full of even more stress and tension. We don’t know if someone will bump into us, yell at us, or if we are crossing the aisle at the wrong time. As much as we tell ourselves, I will not let this bother me (raising my hand here), it does. It’s a palatable feeling in the air. The anxiety settles down on all of us collectively. As much as we feel it, our kiddos do too. Our kiddos mirror us. If we feel stressed, they feel stressed. If we feel overwhelmed, they feel overwhelmed. If we feel anxious, our anxiety adds to their stress shaped brain and squeezes. This is true for any kiddo, even more so for kiddos from hard places and who has a capital letter syndrome. If we are feeling anxious and our kids are too, how do we stop the anxiety from growing? Grab a cup of coffee and join Kathleen as she shares four tips to stunt the growth of anxiety.

Is your child stuck in one of the mistaken goals? Does he/she seek: Constant attention? Total Control? Retaliation/Revenge? Or is he/she giving up? Wrapping up the series on mistaken goals, Kathleen shares an analogy to help us better understand our kiddos! Grab a cup of coffee and join her!

Does your child give up easily on everything? Does he/she act on the belief “I can’t” all the time? This this is for you! As foster and adoptive parents, we see the repercussions of abuse and neglect. We see a child’s mistaken beliefs about themselves — like “you don’t matter” or “you don’t exist” — being lived out on a daily basis. If you didn’t believe you deserve to exist, would you be able to conquer fractions? Would you have the gumption to conquer anything? So what can you do? Grab a cup of coffee and join Kathleen as she shares some tips and stories!

Does your kiddo seem to be stuck in pattern of revenge? Does he/she seem bent on retaliation? Does he/she blame everyone, especially you, for EVERYTHING? Then this is for you! Kids from hard places can displace anger from their past into their present. When they blame their foster or adoptive mom for what their bio mom did, it is usually a subconscious behavior. Over time, it becomes a rut that gets deeper and deeper until retaliation becomes the norm. Grab a cup of coffee and join Kathleen as she shares some tips on how to realign the mistaken goal of retaliation and revenge.

Does your kiddo try to control everything? Does he/she seem to manipulate every event? Even celebratory ones? Like birthday parties? Picnics? Then this is for you! When a child has had no control over his life and no guarantee that he will be cared for, he will try to exercise control in any war he can. Even as an adult, I often fall into the trap of trying to control my circumstances, so it’s not surprising that kiddos from hard places do the same. Grab a cup of coffee and join Kathleen as she shares some tips on how to realign the mistaken goal of total control!