Family

Most of us never think of children needing respite care. When I owned a child care facility we provided “respite child care” for foster care moms and dads. Some of the kids had so many issues that the foster parents needed a day away from the kids. They needed time to regroup and regenerate themselves. Some just needed a day to rest. The foster care children came to us for the entire day. After a full day of activities with people that knew how to help them, how to keep them in control and stimulate their creativity, they went home ...

Anger is a common emotion in children of divorce - anger at their parents, anger at siblings, anger at circumstance, anger at themselves, anger ant the world, and anger at God. We saw this over and over again in the survey we are currently conducting of adult children of divorce (names have been changed to protect confidentiality, the numbers following the name represent age at the time of divorce and age at time of survey). Chloe echoed a very common view of God amongst children of divorce: “It was hard for me to reconcile the loving, caring God they talked ...

Families Change is a site from the Justice Education Society in British Columbia. It is a guide for teens to parental separation and divorce. Written on a teen level it deals with what is happening, changes, emotions, strategies, the law, and frequently asked questions. The website is also available in French. Families Change explains why it exists: Separation and divorce have a profound impact on all family members. Loss of security is often coupled with intense feelings of grief. The stress can be overwhelming for kids, teens and parents. Within each section, various issues facing teens whose parents are separated ...

Single parents come to me all the time asking for help in disciplining their children. Remember they are parenting alone and there is no one in the house with them late at night or on a day-to-day basis to help them parent their children. It can get overwhelming to say the least. Here are ten examples of some of the kinds of questions I get about parenting alone. Sometimes single parents need a more in-depth answer depending on variations such as age, developmental abilities or other situations. For our purposes here these answers are short and to the point. Please ...

In speaking to parents, one thing we hear over and over is something to the effect of, "I really think my children benefit from the divorce because..." In 2013, HuffPost Divorce asked the following on Facebook and Twitter: "We want to know: What's one way your child has actually benefited from your divorce?" They have compiled SOME of the responses (the positive ones) and published them in an article titled Divorce And Children: 30 Ways Readers Say Their Children Benefited From Divorce.  Many of the replies focus on how much better off the kids must be because the parents are ...

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Gandhi Divorce can be a major stumbling block to our happiness and personal growth. Holding grudges and resentments have been proven to be harmful to your physical health and emotional well-being. Forgiveness is a productive way to move forward, detach from the past and let go of lingering hurts so you can experience a healthier, more promising future. It is not uncommon to resent the people closest to us because they have often done us some harm such as violating our trust through a lie, betrayal, deceit or ...

Divorce is hard. There is no doubt about it. When parents divorce, kids will mourn the loss of their intact family, the loss of time and availability of one or both parents and the loss of life as they had know it. Divorce hurts, and kids suffer – most often they suffer more than even their parents who are getting divorced. But, there is hope. Things can get better, and though life will never be the same, it is possible to create a new normal. Psalm 126 is a Psalm of new beginnings. It recounts times in the past where ...

From MU Extension at the University of Missouri-Columbia, "Activities for Helping Children Deal With Divorce" suggests a multitude of activities that parents can do with their children to “help them work through their feelings, concerns and frustrations regarding the divorce.”  Though specifically designed for parents, these activities can generally be done by any caring adult with a child of divorce. By way of introduction, the article explains: The process of divorce is a challenging life transition for both parents and children. During a divorce, children often feel a variety of conflicting emotions. Parents should provide their children with understanding and ...

This week we conclude our discussion of the mistake we’ve made when working with the child of divorce and their out of control behaviors. Mistake #6 – Time Out We sent kids to time out to “think about what they had done”. Here’s probably what really happened during that time. Teacher: Gage you go to time out. And you think about what you did. Gage’s self talk: Sure I’ll think about hitting that girl, and I’m gonna think about hitting again tomorrow too. She took my blocks when you weren’t looking so tomorrow I’m gonna hit her again when you’re ...

Talk about memories - today is my youngest son Nathan’s eleventh birthday. I wrote this article on his fifth birthday. I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. Of my four kids, he is the only one born after I received Christ (something I did shortly after his older sister was born), and I marveled at the grace of God in my life and in that moment. The room was filled with his mother, of course, me, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and various well wishers as the day went on. Shortly after Nathan was born, a family ...

Link to "Why Promiscuity is a Form of Self-Mutilation for Fatherless Daughters:" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/16/daddyless-daughters-promiscuity-self-mutilation_n_3600946.html?ref=politics&ir=Divorce Fatherlessness is an epidemic in our world today. Too frequently, daughters who never knew their father or lose their fathers to divorce turn to a string of men to try to fill that void in their lives.  In this article, they discuss how this promiscuity is actually a form of self-mutilation.  Make sure to watch the video that goes along with the article ...

STOP! If you are considering a divorce, do everything within your power to find another way. Divorce hurts. It will hurt your children whether or not they are willing to tell you. Divorce fundamentally changes the world they have come to know. That said, we recognize that some people will still elect to get a divorce, or may find themselves in a position where they have no choice. In those situations, we hope that you will make every effort to lessen the impact divorce will have on your kids. Those efforts should start from the very beginning, and in this ...