Category - Support Services

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7
May

Protecting Adoptive Children’s Privacy While Fundraising

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in Support Services
I recently saw a picture of a young child and his prospective international adoptive parents on the front page of a local paper. To my surprise, the picture showed them at their child’s orphanage, listed his name and age, identified his particular special medical needs, as well as stated the particular country they were visiting! ...
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30
Apr

Using All Five Senses to Calm Down

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in Support Services
If you’re a parent or have been around children often, you’ve likely witnessed a child (or more!) melting down or throwing a temper tantrum. Children can sometimes have difficulty regulating their emotions, especially if developmentally they have not yet reached that milestone.  Parents need to have tools to help their children regulate their emotions when ...
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4
Apr

Can I Adopt Internationally if I have a Mental Health Disorder?

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in Support Services
Having a mental health disorder may not automatically disqualify someone from adopting internationally. Each case is reviewed on an individual basis to determine eligibility. Prospective adoptive parents must be approved to adopt at several different stages in their journey. When a prospective adoptive parent first initiates a conversation with their adoption agency they will discuss ...
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26
Mar

Raising Your Child to Embrace Multiculturalism

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in Support Services
Appreciating, understanding and thriving in our multicultural world seems like an obvious goal for families who have adopted internationally. After all, you agreed to support your child’s interest in and ties to their home country and you purchased some toys and books for them while you were in country. You even prepare country-familiar foods for ...
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31
Jan

What Country and Child-Specific Information Does MLJ Provide to Families?

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in MLJ Adoptions, Support Services
Communication is always key to developing relationships. In adoption, we’ve found that whenever we can share information specifically regarding a family’s country program or about their referred child, that is the most helpful and appreciated communication. For this reason, we are always working to provide more and better country specific and child specific information. This ...
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8
Jan

Why Must I Take Pre-Adoption Education?

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in Support Services
I always know when I send a new international adoption family their Individual Education Plan, that there are probably some grunts and groans as they read the list of requirements. I get that. Yes, education is part of the process, possibly not only from the State you live in, but definitely from The Hague Convention ...
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3
Jan

Helping Your Child Overcome A Fear of Dogs

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in Support Services
One question I always ask parents who have pets in their home during their home study visit is, “What will you do if your child has a fear of dogs?” For many, this is a question they haven’t quite thought about, but I generally get a response similar to the following: “We will do what ...
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18
Dec

Post Adoption Services are for Everyone

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in Support Services
Let’s face it, the adoption journey can be hard! Really hard. It can be stressful, confusing, frustrating, and expensive. During this process, you have family and friends rallying around you, other adoptive parents encouraging you, and your adoption agency staff supporting you. Their help and guidance make the difference. Then, your precious child comes home. ...
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4
Dec

Self-Soothing Behaviors

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in Support Services
In orphanages or foster care, many children learn self-soothing behaviors such as rocking, head banging, or sucking their thumbs to comfort themselves. These behaviors are learned due to neglect, limited social interaction, and a lack of loving caregivers who consistently meet their needs. When raised in these environments, children learn how to take care of ...
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27
Nov

Empowering your Child to Answer Tough Questions about Adoption

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in Support Services
“Why don’t you look like your mom and dad?” “Where are your REAL parents?” “Where are you from?” “Why didn’t your parents want you?” “You’re lucky to be adopted!” “I wish I was adopted.” These are all questions or comments that adoptees hear from classmates, friends, and even adults. Even though most people don’t mean ...
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20
Nov

Separation Anxiety in your Child: Normal Behavior or Problematic?

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in Support Services
When my daughter recently started her 2-year-old in day care, the phone calls increased to me during that first week—“She’s so upset, crying and clinging to me the minute we enter the parking lot. I hate leaving her!” Of course, my own memories of waiting outside the day care front door listening to her and ...
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13
Nov

Helping Your Child with Self-Hurting Behaviors

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in Support Services
Self-hurting in children is often seen as a coping mechanism when difficult feelings arise. Some of these difficult feelings that your child may be unable to express can include but are not limited to: guilt, sadness, anxiety, frustration, low self-worth, and self-blame. When a child goes through a life-changing transition like adoption, they may not ...
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7
Nov

How Does MLJ Support Me During the Dossier Process?

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in Support Services
The paperwork required during the adoption process can be overwhelming. There are applications, surveys, letters and endless forms to complete. First, families must complete a home study, and gather and fill out the numerous documents that go with it. When the home study is finished, it is time to compile the dossier, a collection of ...
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23
Oct

Car Seat Troubles

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in Support Services
“Don’t unbuckle your seatbelt!” “Stay in your car seat!” “Stop screaming, Mommy is trying to drive!” Do these sound familiar? It’s a parent’s worst nightmare to be driving down the road while their child is screaming and/or climbing out of their car seat. Children who have been adopted from another country have often spent a ...
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16
Oct

Alternatives to Traditional Discipline

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in Support Services
Traditional parenting techniques are not always effective when parenting a child with a history of trauma. Traditional parenting techniques include time-outs, behavior charts and removing privileges due to poor behavior. Sending a child away to a corner or to their room can cause them to feel rejected, afraid, unworthy, unlovable and alone. Before your child joined ...
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20
Sep

Why is Back to School Especially Difficult for Children from Hard Places?

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in Support Services
Back to school season can be difficult for all children, but especially for children from hard places. Before we officially dive into the “why,” it’s helpful to define the “who.” For the purposes of this topic, we will be talking about children from hard places. “Children from hard places” is a term coined by Dr. ...
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13
Sep

Moving Past Traditional Parenting Methods: A Book Review on Beyond Consequences

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in Support Services
It’s far from light summer reading, and probably not what you want to tote with you to the beach, but Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control, Vol. 2 is a worthwhile read for every parent to a child from a hard place. Often orphaned and vulnerable children have spent the early years of their lives in ...
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21
Aug

Adoption & Education: Specific Tips for Collaborating with a Teacher

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in Support Services
With the school year starting soon or recently started, it’s back to navigating how to help your child flourish even when they’re not with you. Sending your child off to school can be difficult, especially if you’re nervous about how she will interact with her classmates, teachers and school administrators. But, if you prepare and ...
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2
Aug

How Do You Define Family?

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in Support Services
It’s amazing how times have changed since I was a child. Not only technology, advances in medicine and science, and education, but in the definition or understanding of “family.” It’s a good change, I think, because as a society we have become more accepting, diverse in our thinking, and willing to understand that “family” can ...
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31
Jul

Summer Activities for Kids Promoting Cultural Awareness

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in Support Services
Through my work in international adoption, I have had the absolute privilege to travel and experience parts of the world that I otherwise would have never seen. These experiences have certainly had a positive and lasting impact on my life and the way I view our world. I hope one day, my children will also ...
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12
Jul

Qualities of a Successful Adoptive Parent

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in Support Services
When considering adoption, parents generally take time to consider whether they meet certain qualifications, like age requirements or length of marriage, to adopt from a particular country. For example, to adopt from Ukraine, couples must be married and both must be at least 25 years old. But to adopt from Burkina Faso, couples must be ...
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