Child & Family Support
Discipling Children from Trauma Backgrounds
Compiled by Jenny Riddle, with contributions from Traci Newell and Mark Sly When children enter homes from traumatic backgrounds, their lives have already been shaped by circumstances that make brokenness a part of their story. Difficulties children may have faced include medical…
Words of Encouragement for Dads
Mark Sly serves as the (un)adopted Regional Coordinator for Africa and Eurasia. He is the father of three children and on youth ministry staff for nine years before coming to Lifeline. Parenting. Fatherhood. For Mark Sly, those two words initially wrought fear…
National Foster Care Month: Opening the Doors of Conversation about Birth Families
Compiled by Jenny Riddle with Traci Newell, LBSW, TBRI® Practitioner, Education Specialist & National Program Director for Families Count For foster parents, talking with children in their care about their families may be uncomfortable, particularly when circumstances are challenging. As shepherds of…
Building Bridges
“Education is a matter of building bridges.” Ralph Ellison Recently, one of our Bridge tutors spent some time with a fifteen-year-old girl with Down Syndrome who with tears streaming down her face, asked why she had to been born different? We have…
‘Essence of Adolescents’
“Ugh, teenagers!” “Teens just go brain dead for a little while and then come back.” “It’s all the raging hormones — they act crazy!” “If we can just get through these years, we will be ok.” In the book Brainstorm, Daniel L….
Post-Holiday Transitions
Children, especially those from trauma backgrounds, tend to find stability and safety in structured, predictable environments. Those two words are not typically used to describe holidays or winter breaks. Additionally, holiday breaks are short in nature, so the transitions are swift and…
‘Making Time’ for Self-Care
Developed by Lynn Beckett, LBSW Adapted for blog by Neisha Roberts It’s the age-old conundrum for those named “mom” or “dad” — how do you keep up with all the essential (and some fun) tasks as a parent and still have time…