Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Adoption / Foster Care: New Articles for June 2012

Adoption / Foster Care
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New Articles for June 2012
Jun 26th 2012, 20:19

This month I decided to focus a bit on what we will need to know about this fall - school bullies. So, I did a bit of research and was stunned to learn that the characteristics that describe a child who is likely to be bullied could also easily describe a foster child. The same is true for the factors that could cause a child to become a bully. These same factors impact many foster children. I also got back to basics and outlined the basics of foster care and wrote about the foster care licensing procedure.

As always, if there is anything you would like to see me cover - please let me know.

Suggested Reading/New Articles and Features:

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Friday, June 22, 2012

Adoption / Foster Care: Breaking News: Jerry Sandusky Found Guilty

Adoption / Foster Care
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Breaking News: Jerry Sandusky Found Guilty
Jun 22nd 2012, 23:49

The news seems to be on every channel - Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of 45 of the 48 charges against him relating to sex abuse of young boys. Back in November, we learned of Jerry Sandusky's abuse of children while serving as an assistant football coach for Penn State under Head Coach, Joe Paterno. It was discovered that he even abused the young boys in the football locker room of Penn State. Sandusky met the boys through a charity he founded for underprivileged youth, The Second Mile

Sandusky may spend the rest of his life in prison. I'll report more as I learn more.

I'm very happy that he has been charged and the children that have been abused were finally heard.

How do you feel about the verdict? Please share your thoughts.

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Adoption / Foster Care: Going Through Big Life Changes? This May Not Be the Best Time to Add to Your Family

Adoption / Foster Care
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Going Through Big Life Changes? This May Not Be the Best Time to Add to Your Family
Jun 22nd 2012, 00:00

Whether or not to add another child to your home is a very tough decision. There is much to consider. On more than one occasion the thing that we had to stop and think about is timing. Timing is one of those things that may be easily overlooked, but could also easily be one of the most important aspects of the decision before you.

At one point we were busy adding on to our home and there was a lot of construction.  This not only posed as a potential safety hazard, but it was also a time suck for my husband who was doing most of the work himself.  So, I was not getting the daily break from the kids that I was accustomed.  This was very stressful on the family.

More recently we are in the middle of making a pretty big move.  We've never had to relocate before.  We made the decision not to move our foster children with us. They would be too far from siblings and other birth family connections that were important to them. While painful decision to move the children, we were not going to be an adoptive resource so, it was in their best interest to move to another foster home.

We have also decided to put the idea of adopting again on hold until our daughter goes off to college.  We get to spend her last few years home with just her.  She has shared her space and important people with other children her entire life. I feel good about giving her this time.

What are other points have you and your family considered when deciding whether or not to add to your family, whether through foster care or adoption?

Click "comments" below and share.

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Friday, June 15, 2012

Adoption / Foster Care: Father Son and Father Daughter Relationships - An Important Connection for Children

Adoption / Foster Care
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Father Son and Father Daughter Relationships - An Important Connection for Children
Jun 15th 2012, 08:00

My husband and daughter on vacation in Colorado 2005. Photo © Carrie CraftA few years ago I asked our forum members to submit their thoughts and feelings about fathers. I received many heartfelt responses - both about good fathers and fathers the readers didn't even know existed. Here are a couple of my favorites:

"I remember mostly good things about my Dad - he was devoted to my mom and it was clear that he loved her dearly - when he died a few years ago - they had been married for 63 years. So, I consider his greatest gift to me that he taught me how to love someone - openly and respectfully. He was openly affectionate with my mom and us children and was a jovial, funny man." ~ Southernroots

"I think most men do not realize how important a part they are in children's lives, what an influence they have on shaping a lot of basic values and lessons for life. And what it does when they leave and do not invest any time in their child's(ren) lives." ~ quinnandellie

Add your thoughts to this article, Father Son and Father Daughter Relationships - An Important Connection for Children through the link to the forum above or in the comments section below.

Photo: My husband and daughter on our 2005 family vacation. I'm blessed to have a husband invests a lot of his time and energy into our children. © Carrie Craft

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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Adoption / Foster Care: A Checklist of Summer Rules for Foster Families

Adoption / Foster Care
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A Checklist of Summer Rules for Foster Families
Jun 14th 2012, 08:00

Summer doesn't officially start until next Wednesday.  I love Summer and its longer days and of course, fun in the sun! Remember, with that fun in the sun comes a few extra responsibilities for foster families.

Here is a quick checklist of things to consider, and as always, check with your foster care agency to be sure that you're not missing anything.

What do you have planned this summer with your children? Click "comments" below and share.

Suggested Reading: A Checklist of Summer Rules for Foster Families Foster Family Vacation Planning The Pros of Including Foster Children in Your Family Vacation Plans

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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Adoption / Foster Care: Wendy’s Sixth Annual Father’s Day Frosty Weekend

Adoption / Foster Care
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Wendy’s Sixth Annual Father’s Day Frosty Weekend
Jun 13th 2012, 00:30

I just got my email reminder about Wendy's Sixth Annual Father's Day Frosty Weekend!

Don't forget that on June 16 and 17, participating Wendy's restaurants across the country will donate a minimum of 50¢ from every Frosty product sold to support Wendy's Wonderful Kids a signature program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA) that finds adoptive families for foster children. This includes the original Frosty as well as parfaits, shakes and floats.

Another way to help is to re-Tweet one of @Wendys special Twitter posts with the hashtag #TreatItFwd. Now through Father's Day, each designated re-Tweet will result in additional 50¢ donations made from Treat it Forward.

Check in at Wendy's with your mobile device on Father's Day Weekend (June 16 and 17 only) and Wendy's will donate 50-cents for every customer that checks in using the special mobile-friendly website found at ww.wendys.com/treatitforward.

Since 2007, Father's Day Frosty Weekend has raised more than $8 million for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in support of Wendy's Wonderful Kids, a program that finds permanent adoptive homes for children in foster care.

So, buy a Frosty, re-Tweet, or check in at Wendy's on your mobile device. All easy and great ways to help foster kids find forever adoptive homes!

To see some of the former foster children who have been blessed with adoptive homes, please see this video entitled, Say, Yes. It makes me cry every time!

__________________________________

Suggested Reading: What Is Wendy's Wonderful Kids? What Is the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption? Who Was Dave Thomas?

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Adoption / Foster Care: To the Dads They Didn't Have to Be

Adoption / Foster Care
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To the Dads They Didn't Have to Be
Jun 12th 2012, 06:00

The following is a blog I did for Father's Day 2010 as part of an Blog Carnival. In honor of Father's Day, I have decided to re-publish the blog each year.   Please note that the links to the blogs belonging to other Guides are also from 2010.  I hope you enjoy and Happy Father's Day!

______________________________

The Adoption Guide, Carrie Craft and her father, Charles Prewit Carrie Craft and her dad, Charles, sometime in the early 1970's. Photo © Carrie Craft

We had our Father's Day traditions growing up. Father's Day meant a fishing trip, sometimes over night. Dad got to fish some, but mostly he spent it baiting hooks for three little girls, retrieving lines from trees, and getting hooks unstuck from the bottom of the lake. (He had a special technique that seemed to always work - until the line broke.) Not all fathers would have been as good spirited about a special fishing trip being spent on keeping 3 kids happy.  When I think of my father I think of the song, Daddy's Hands, by Holly Dunn.

When I think of foster and adoptive father's the song, He Didn't Have to Be by Brad Paisley comes to mind. If you're not familiar it's about a step-family. The chorus:

"And then all of a sudden Oh, it seemed so strange to me How we went from something's missing To a family Lookin' back all I can say About all the things he did for me Is I hope I'm at least half the dad That he didn't have to be"

The stereotypical man who runs from responsibility is lost on the men who choose to be foster and adoptive parents. Where one man drops his responsibility, another dad willingly steps into that role and picks up where the other man left off.

I think of my husband, who not only adopted 3 boys as his own, but also has fostered both short and long-term over 50 children. He has spent time working side-by-side with them on homework, played tag, and made midnight runs to the store for medicine.

I think of my father, who has stepped in as a grandpa to the many foster and adoptive children in our lives, taking them to work with him on the truck whenever they got suspended from school and suddenly had days open to work. (It's amazing how not going to school opens one's schedule up to other opportunities.)

I think of my father-in-law and how he helped us with behaviors with our adopted sons, when he let them stay evenings with him, and how just last week he helped me when our last foster placement baby wouldn't stop crying. So he stayed for over an hour keeping baby happy.

Other Guides Share Thoughts on Father's and Father's Day

The Guide to Single Parents honors single fathers in her blog and ends by saying, "Know that the work you're doing matters to your children, and will not be quickly forgotten."

The Guide to Fatherhood shares that often, the best father's day gifts are not from the store.  I know a gift I made my father when I was a kid still hangs on the wall.  If you need ideas for handmade gifts, the Guide to Family Crafts, has a listing on her Father's Day blog.

The Guide to Working Moms shares the value in noting the differences in parenting styles and asks, "What have you learned about parenting from the men in your life?" The Family Fitness Guide shares that she has learned the value of being a role model for staying active from the men in her life.

The Guide to Stay-at-Home Moms, shares the difficulties of Father's Day since losing her father at a young age and how she can now find the sweetness in the holiday through the eyes of her young son and the love of his daddy. Sometimes, for those who have lost their fathers, Father's Day is a time to remember and pay tribute such as one reader has done with this blog entry, a blog tribute to her father, a WWII veteran.

The Grandparents Guide shares the importance of grandfathers and how their roles have changed over the years. While another Guide, the Guide to Work-at-Home Moms shares how father's working from home have changed in recent years as well.

I would like to end by saying, thank you to all the fathers and grandfathers - especially to those who didn't have to be.

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Friday, June 8, 2012

Adoption / Foster Care: Hot Weather May Bring Needed Changes in Hair & Skin Care Routines

Adoption / Foster Care
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Hot Weather May Bring Needed Changes in Hair & Skin Care Routines
Jun 8th 2012, 08:00

Change in the weather, often means needed changes in our parenting, especially if we are parenting children with diverse backgrounds and cultures.

It's important to remember the changing needs of children with darker skin tones. This includes skin care and hair care. I have heard many adoptees share how much they love for their adoptive parents, but wish that their new parents had more knowledge about black hair and skin care needs.

We are fortunate to have access to more black hair care information these days. So, hopefully our children will look back at past photos and cringe at the stuff we all cringe about - clothing styles. But, they won't look back and cringe at the lack of proper hair and skin care.

_____________________________

Suggested Reading: Considering Interracial Adoption Beat the Summer African American Hair Blues Skin Conditions and Children of Color 14 Ways to Focus on Culture How Do You Make Your Child's Birth Culture a Part of Everyday Life?

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Monday, June 4, 2012

Adoption / Foster Care: What if He's Reluctant to Be a Dad?

Adoption / Foster Care
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What if He's Reluctant to Be a Dad?
Jun 4th 2012, 08:30

When I first approached my husband about becoming a foster father, he was hesitant. He had a lot of questions about what it meant to be a foster father and seemed to be worried about taking on the responsibility of being someone's "dad." Since I was already working in the social services field at a group home, I took the lead in trying to find the answers to some of his questions.

Through my experience as a trainer of foster and adoptive parents, I can tell you that my husband's feelings were not out of the ordinary. So, if your husband or partner is not as "into" being a foster or adoptive parent as you, that's really, pretty common.  Just remember not to push or attempt to guilt him into being a foster parent.  That would not be fair to any future foster child placed in your home or good for your relationship.

What did you do to bring him around to fatherhood? What were some of his concerns? Click "comments" below and share your story.

____________________________________

Suggested Reading: 6 Foster Care Skills You Need to Know Before Becoming a Foster Parent Should I Do Foster Care? Reluctant to Be a Dad - Some Men Have Cold Feet You Know You're a Foster or Adoptive Father When...

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