Search Results for: blog hugs and mental health

Rain or Shine, My Pets Are There

This hasn’t been a very easy year for me. In fact, of all my years on this Earth to date, this past one has been the most trying by far. And the most blues-filled. One After the Other It started last summer when we tried to move back to Jacksonville. Thankfully plans changed, but instead of life sailing along unencumbered as I’d hoped, I got sick in November –the same week Wayne moved home and we left to go to Denver for Thanksgiving. Then Wayne got sick, and I had a relapse and fell ill again. Come January and February … Continue reading →

The Personal Pet Therapy Project

One of my resolutions for 2008 was seeing about getting me and Murph involved in a pet therapy program. Well, recent developments have certainly seen to it that this resolution will be kept this year. A Family Affair Not only is Murphy going to be involved with the pet therapy project, but so are Mr. Meow and Tabby. And the person we’re going to concentrate our therapeutic energies on is my mom, who in addition to her dementia was also recently diagnosed with lung cancer. Grandma Dorothy Moves In On Wednesday March 19 I flew to Denver. My mom had … Continue reading →

Hug your Local Neurologist!

Yesterday I had a meeting with my neurologist. I really like this guy because he’s the first consultant I’ve seen in over 3 years of unexplained/undiagnosed illness who really seems as if he cares about me, the person. Not long before Christmas he did an EEG and as a result of that diagnosed me as epileptic. I’m not sure the diagnosis is correct but I bow to his better judgment and am trying the treatment plan to see if it helps. This aside, he’s obviously concerned about my weight. The last time we met we talked about the fact that … Continue reading →

25 Parenting Tips

Raising kids is harder today than it was just a generation ago. I know it’s a cliché, but sometimes I really don’t know whether I’m coming or going. Do you sometimes feel the same way? Here’s a few tips that I have gathered that might help: (1) Establish weekly together time and do something special with your kids, like going to the movies, taking a walk or going out for ice-cream. (2) It’s okay to ask your kids where they are going and who they are going to be with. You should also make it your duty to know who … Continue reading →

Teaching Modesty: Creating a “Private Zone”

All children are vulnerable to predators—people who might want to take advantage of their innocence. Children on the autism spectrum and those with developmental delays are obviously even more at risk because of their inability to understand what behaviors are appropriate and inappropriate. An adult or older child might confuse a special needs child with terms that seem harmless like “friendship” or “hugs” or “secret.” And even if our children are never put in a dangerous situation, they could inadvertently embarrass themselves by exposing or talking about their private parts at improper times and places. Especially as our children approach … Continue reading →

Comforting Your Little One: Help Them to Thrive

It’s a fundamental of parenthood, comforting your child. Your baby requires a healthy diet of nutritious food whether it is breast milk, formula or solids along with a healthy diet of hugs and kisses in order to thrive. Your child craves your attention and it’s extremely natural for you to give it. Hugs and Kisses From the moment they are born, we begin with the hugs and kisses. We cradle them. We snuggle them. We give them comfort and we continue to do this as they get older. There’s nothing like the feeling of your little one returning your hug. … Continue reading →

Ten Ways to Support To A RAD Mom.

Reactive Attachment Disorder, RAD is one of those things other people don’t really notice. The reactive part is usually seen and felt the most by the primary caregiver–or the mom in most cases. What a RAD Mom needs the most is support from others in ways you may have never thought of. 1. A RAD Mom needs help teaching her child with Reactive Attachment Disorder that mom’s are in charge of taking good care of their children. And that their mom is a good mom who takes care of her children. 2. A RAD Mom needs friends who don’t hug … Continue reading →

Attachment Parenting-Initiating Positive Interactions

In the last Blog of this series, I wrote about some of the issues adoptive parents face when an older child is placed. I also touched on my own personal feelings about children’s need to have an at home parent. It has been three years since our children were placed with us for adoption and it has been during the normal routine parts of life where we have experienced the majority of positive interactions with our children. Being at home when the children were not attending school has given our family a chance to build a history together. The fact … Continue reading →

Older Adopted Children May Need Help Learning How Families Work.

When I write about adopting an older child my definition is any child who is walking and talking when we become their adoptive parents. By the time a child is walking and talking, they are thinking and remembering too, and in most cases, their life before becoming our child was completely different. When I have started new schools or a new job usually, I receive some packet of information that outlines the rules and expectations. Most of us find comfort in this information when we start something new. If a child is old enough to walk and talk, then the … Continue reading →

When you become the Adoptive Parents of Siblings.

Even the most experienced and well trained parents may find it is more then we expected the first several months after siblings move into our home for adoption. The fact there is more than one child being placed usually means least one of the children will be older. Except in the case of twins and twin parenting is special no matter what. The siblings may have been kept together while in foster care and in some cases they were not together but the older child knows and loves the younger sibling/siblings, very much. As the adoptive parents it can be … Continue reading →