Recently, I started seeing my own therapist, and she diagnosed me with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as a result of the many intense situations I’ve found myself in while raising a child with extreme behaviors as a result of his trauma history. This was a tough pill for me to swallow. If I’m being honest, … Continue reading Why I See My Own Therapist, and Why You Should Too
Somewhere in our county there is a massive old limestone bridge over which a railroad company had once run its trains. Today, having found myself in the area and with a bit of time on my hands, I set out to find it. However, all I knew was that it was somewhat southeast of an … Continue reading How to Keep Going When Love is Not a Victory March
Have you seen that episode of I Love Lucy with the freezer? I certainly hope you have, but if not, allow me to give you a brief synopsis. Lucy and Ethel decide to buy a large, industrial freezer without their husbands knowing it because they figure buying meat in bulk and storing it in the … Continue reading Considering Foster Care? Then Bust Down the Door
My wife, Trina, and I have been licensed foster parents since October 2014. We like to say God chose this journey for us because of the events that led up to us deciding to jump in. We tried for a couple of years to have biological children and it just wasn't the right time. We … Continue reading Guest Post: 9 Foster Care Myths, by Brandon Bishop
From the back cover: Many of us enter parenthood with a perfect vision of what our family will be. But along the way we discover that the children we've been blessed with are real human beings, with their own minds, ideals, and views of the world. Our influence only goes so far, and when those … Continue reading Book Review: Winning the Heart of Your Child by Mike Berry
I have a Facebook friend who excitedly counted down the days until spring break when she could finally spend a bunch of quality time with her kids. That’s beautiful and amazing and inspiring and foreign to me. You see, for me, the looming inevitability of spring break was foreboding, a feeling I’m sure (or at … Continue reading All He Wants is to Feel Safe and Loved
Today I sat down to write for The Foster Dads, fully knowing that recently I’ve been far less consistent than I should be if I want to maintain a steady readership. As I scrolled through my list of potential article topics, I realized that I couldn’t write about any of them. It’s not that I … Continue reading Exhausted. Worn Down. Bitter.
In the early- to mid-2000s, there was a delightful fantasy adventure show on Nickelodeon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s the story of a boy named Aang, the Avatar, who is basically the chosen one to save the world from the conquering Fire Nation. While the show is technically for kids, it … Continue reading Uncle Iroh’s Lessons for Foster Parents
Throughout this series about rethinking control, I’ve written about how you’re completely in control of yourself and nothing else. This includes your thoughts, feelings, and behavior. When you have a skewed understanding of what you can and cannot control, you may find yourself dealing with anger. One of the things that you cannot control, and … Continue reading Rethinking Control, Part 5: Giving Away Control to Meet the Needs of Children with Attachment Difficulties
So far in this series on rethinking control, we’ve established that you are in complete control of yourself...and not a whole lot else. The inverse of this relatively unfortunate reality is also true: you are not in control of other people, including and especially your children. But for whatever reason, we have this expectation that … Continue reading Rethinking Control, Part 4: Helping Your Child Develop Their Internal Sense of Control
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