Adoption Group: Parents of Young Children

Adoption Group Information

Parents of Young Children

For parents of children—ages 4 to 7 years old.

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Extreme Religion and problems with prior fostering

Hello, We are in the transition process with a 6 year old girl coming from a foster family. We’re very happy that she’s smart and already reading an doing math…
- Posted by J45 to Parents of Young Children on Jun 19, 2016 at 1:54pm | 10 Comments | Post a reply
Please Help. Adoption Research.

Hello, My name is Jason Jordan and I am an adoptive parent, counselor, and doctoral student and I need your help. As an adoptive parent and counselor, I understand the…
- Posted by jsjordan to Parents of Young Children on Oct 14, 2015 at 8:56pm | 1 Comment | Post a reply
Sharing clothing tip

I just wanted to share something that has helped me greatly on my foster/adopt journey and it all started by getting a two year old with nothing but an outfit…
- Posted by C3 to Parents of Young Children on Oct 10, 2015 at 4:17pm | 2 Comments | Post a reply
Play groups for young kids in NY: Fall 2015

ALL TOGETHER NOW (ATN) FALL 2015 REGISTRATION IS OPEN at http://www.alltogetheradoption.org Adoption Playgroups for 4-6; 7-9 Year-Olds Tweens Peer-Support Group Teen Mentor Program Parent Discussion Group Five Sunday Sessions: 2:00-3:30 PM September 20, October 18, October 25, November 15, December 13 Union Temple Preschool 17 Eastern Parkway, 4th floor Brooklyn, NY 11238 ATN �” now in its seventh year �” is a non-profit group that offers a range of adoptee-focused programming for ages 4 through adult. Support Groups for Preschool and Elementary School Children: Fun, multiracial playgroups, facilitated by adult and teen adoptees for adopted kids from a wide spectrum of backgrounds. A committee of resourceful and dedicated adult adoptees, adoptive parents, and teen adoptee volunteers organize the playgroups and their activities. 4-6 year-olds; 7-9 year-olds: Free and group play that incorporates adoption- and identity-related activities and themes. Themes around identity, family and friends will be explored. Activities have included Family Day, an outing to Prospect Park; puzzle and quilt making; and performances from special guests. The groups provide a “safe space” for kids to build relationships within the adoptive community. For Tweens: A peer-support group for 10-12 year-olds that embraces issues, as they come up, in a fun and nurturing environment. The group is facilitated by an adult adoptee, and offers tweens the opportunity to connect and chat about “what is really cool �” and may not be so cool �” about being adopted.” The goals of each group session are: (1) to create a safe and open space for tweens to share their joys and pains, as they relate to successfully navigating the burden and dignity of difference; (2) to address a myriad of “hard situations” that arise where we live, learn, and play; and (3) most importantly, to have fun in the process of finding the living and breathing answers to: “Who am I? Who are we?” For Teens: The Teen Mentor Program creates opportunities for 13-18 year-olds to facilitate peer supportive playgroups for adopted children, ages 4-9 years, while acting as role models in adoptee-focused activities. Our adult adoptee team, in turn, provides supervision and mentorship to the teens to foster growth, development, and exploration. Carfare and community service credit are available for teen mentors. For Parents: ATN provides a space for adoptive parents to gather, connect, share resources and discuss adoption-related issues. All sessions are led by an adult adoptee liaison. For parents of 4-9 year olds and tweens, this group is free of charge. Parents of teen mentors are charged a fee. Registration is also open to non-ATN parents on a space-available basis. Fees The fee per semester for the children’s and tweens groups is $250 per child and goes directly to our operating costs, to pay for the space rental or for adoptee volunteer and facilitator stipends. The parents group is free for families that are registered for the children’s and tweens groups. The Parents Group fee for parents of teens mentors and non-ATN parents is $150 per semester. Who We Are ATN is a not-for-profit, adoptee-centered support group for adopted children and their families. We believe that adoption comes with unique developmental processes for adoptive families and that they differ from biological families for that reason. We particularly value the perspective of adult adoptees, seek their input, and support their concerns as an integral part of our program. We strive to create a community in which adopted children, teens and adults can determine their own experience and form supportive friendships among themselves. As parents, we try to understand and integrate the birth cultures of our children into our families’ lives. We recognize the role race plays in this context and especially how it affects the lives of families with children of color. We work to help prepare those kids for the particular challenges of being adopted persons of color. We acknowledge the birth family as a living reality in the adoptive family. We are also attuned to the losses experienced in adoption, especially those of our children and birth families, and treat them respectfully. Finally, we celebrate the diversity of adoptive families and the lifelong, nurturing, loving, unconditional and irrevocable bonds they form. ATN groups offer support to children and parents. ATN is not a therapy provider. For more information and to register, please visit our website: http://www.alltogetheradoption.org. ATN Board Kacy Ames-Heron Amy Appelbaum Andrea Compton April Dinwoodie Jamie Levinson Frank Ligtvoet Carol Lutfy Marissa Martin Margaret Scott Laura Summerhill Fran Weinstock https://www.facebook.com/pages/All-Together-Now/729057370439459 Please like us on Facebook!
- Posted by Frank Ligtvoet to Parents of Young Children on Sep 01, 2015 at 4:18pm | 0 Comments | Post a reply
Five year old son screams "you stole me"

Hi! opinions needed…. I have a 5 year old son that we adopted at birth. We have always openly discussed adoption and have read him books etc. regarding the topic.…
- Posted by WyattsMommy to Parents of Young Children on Aug 14, 2015 at 2:39pm | 19 Comments | Post a reply
How to answer a difficult question

My husband and I were at the birth of our baby girl and entered into what they called a semi open adoption. Which for us meant sending BM letters and…
- Posted by MyGirlLauren to Parents of Young Children on Jul 31, 2015 at 2:53am | 2 Comments | Post a reply
Late potty trainer

My youngest AD came to us just before her 3rd birthday still in diapers. That was about 14 months ago. We never imagined that we would still be having “accidents”…
- Posted by C3 to Parents of Young Children on Jul 24, 2015 at 2:16am | 12 Comments | Post a reply
Birth siblings

When should we tell our daughter she has birth-siblings? Our daughter is 5 now and we adopted her at birth. We decided one child was good for us, so she…
- Posted by 6488 to Parents of Young Children on Nov 12, 2014 at 9:27pm | 7 Comments | Post a reply