Most parents whose children enter foster care have to take parenting classes in order to get their children back. I went to two parentingclasses that didn’t help before I found a program that worked for me.
The ones that didn’t help were the ones where the instructor read to us from a big parenting skills book or played old videos of moms trying to get their kids to listen. Then the instructor … Read More
I grew up experiencing many different kinds of abuse. When I was 12 I started taking medication to stabilize my emotions, but when I was 21and married with three children, I tried to stop taking them. Then I felt distant, like I was in my own world, what I call Erica’s world, where it’s all about me and no one has feelings but me.
A part of me wanted to go back … Read More
My son’s problems started in high school. My son had always done well at small schools but he wound up in a school with more than 3,000kids. There were too many kids getting into trouble and the school did too much policing. I knew from the beginning there was too much for my son to explore. I met with the principal, the parent coordinator, and the guidance counselor. They all assured me that … Read More
When I was a little girl, my siblings and I went from group homes to foster homes, from one grandmother’s house to the othergrandmother’s house, due to our parents’ drug use.
Some people might think that, growing up in the foster care system for half my life, I wouldn’t let my children go through the same experiences. Not so. I have five children and—I’m not proud to say this—all five children eventually … Read More
Until recently, my 4-year-old and 1-year-old had no schedule. They’d eat when they were hungry and sleep when they were tired. I’d cookdinner, but if they didn’t want to eat at 6 p.m., then they could eat later. My 4-year-old, Xavier, loves McDonald’s or Chinese food. Almost daily, Dad would give in and get him what he wanted.
X-man and his little brother, Zachary, also went to bed very late. … Read More
