Welcome to Legacy Living Today – I’m Dawn Baggett – today's episode of the podcast is especially for any and all adoptive mothers looking for support, advice and tips gathered and gleaned from experienced moms. Today we're discussing the foundational responsibilities of parenting: protection, provision, and guidance. Plus, particularly if you are a Christian it is crucial to pray for each of your children and your family persistently.
#1 - Protection is about keeping your children safe from physical or psychological harm. It can involve a variety of issues that can come up such as shielding them from dangers such as drugs and alcohol, protecting their innocence in terms of exposure to inappropriate topics or activities, providing physical boundaries around the home, enforcing rules that keep your kids away from potentially dangerous situations, setting limits on screen time and internet usage, and more. If this all sounds overwhelming, I totally get it. And I’ll remind you of the old saying, “Don’t borrow trouble” a biblical principle found in Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 6:34 –
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
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Wouldn’t you agree that parenting is sometimes hard work? How about when the dynamics of family life change with the addition of adopted children or stepchildren?
In my experience as an adoptive mom, it can be difficult to navigate through conflicting advice, unreasonable expectations, and ever-evolving relationships in a bustling household. Roles and responsibilities that aren’t clearly defined can make for increased conflicts - ask me how I know. I’ve learned that when we learn to better manage expectations (ours first, then those of others) while also allowing ourselves grace to do our best within these changing circumstances, we can steer our way through with much less distress.
When a child is adopted, it is often thought that their previous traumatic experiences will automatically disappear. However, this is not always the case. In fact, many adopted children suffer from the effects of their childhood trauma long after they have been removed from the abusive environment.
This can be due to a number of factors. For example, some adoptees may feel like they are not worthy of love and support because they were given up by their birth parents. Others may feel like they are constantly being judged by others because of their adoption status. As a result, these adoptees may struggle to form healthy relationships with others and may struggle with self-esteem issues.
It is important to remember that childhood trauma does not go away automatically once a child is removed from their previous environment.
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