Parent Training
As part of the adoption process, Michelle and I are required to participate in 16+ hours of parent training. The other day, Michelle and I attended Lifelink’s “Parent’s Training” in Rockford, IL. This was worth eight hours of parent education. We had the opportunity to meet a family who recently returned from Korea with their son. It was fun to watch the little guy run around and hear their story. We heard from a women who was adopted from Korea 30 years ago. She spent an hour talking about her childhood, the feelings of abandonment, her desire to “fit in” and her embracement of Korea as an adult. A pediatrician spoke on how to prepare for our international trip, talking with a pediatrician and things to consider when returning to the States. A social worker also spoke about bonding and attachment issues. He talked about a child’s grieving, bonding and abandonment. We also had the opportunity to meet many families adopting from Ethiopia, Haiti, Korea, Vietnam and China. It was definitely worth the time
spent.
Some have said it is odd that we would be required to take parent training. However, I think it is a must. At least for myself. There are many points to raising a child that I wouldn’t have considered. i had it to those who just jumped into the parenting game. With international adoptions, there can be a few adjustments to make that may be different from being a biological parent. One of those adjustments is the concept of replacing the “Time-Out” with the “Time-In”. With children who have any feelings of abandonment may have difficulties with being sent away when being bad. Therefore, they suggest that we employ the “Time-In” technique. Instead of sending our child away until the child, or I, calm down, that we sit down together and regulate ourselves. Kind of different.
Our next educational opportunity is to attend the East Meets West Conference for our China adoption. There is a discussion that is specific to parenting for Dads. It will be interesting to see what they tell us.