Hello! Welcome to the first posting of our brand new Open Arms blog. We have heard that many of you have been anxiously awaiting this debut! This blog is exclusively for our domestic families and we plan on using it as another means of communicating with you and an additional way of informing you of everything going on within Open Arms and within the adoption community as a whole. If we see great articles we will post them. Please feel free to share anything you find that you feel might be particularly appropriate for our forum. This will give us an opportunity to hear from you in a different way.
Since I’m the resident blog lover among the Open Arms staff (along with Michele LeMasney) I get the pleasure of the inaugural post. (They will come from various staff members at different times and Meredith monthly.)
This past Tuesday night was our workshop on Exploring Children’s Developmental Understanding of Adoption. It was a well attended event-almost thirty people were there. Abby Ruder gave out lots of information on talking with your children about their adoption stories at different ages and stages. She also provided us with much information on the losses associated with adoption, which are important to remember when talking to your children because it affects both them and you at various times in your lives. For those of you who were unable to attend, we will definitely be having similar workshops yearly and I highly recommend attending at least one. It is such an important topic for all adoptive families! I have included a link to a section on Adoptive Family Magazine's website that has wonderful articles on this issue: http://adoptivefamilies.com/talking
Our next workshop on The Effects of Substance Abuse during Pregnancy is coming soon. It will be on June 30th from 6-8:30pm at 2100 Arch Street. Consider registering if you have not yet adopted. It's a great idea to learn about how different drugs and alcohol may affect a developing fetus and what you are comfortable with before you are faced with a decision about whether to move forward with an opportunity or not. And please join us if you are parenting a child who was born exposed to any substance. Resources and tips will be provided. I know all of us staff are particularly looking forward to this workshop. A lot of us are planning on being there.
While I’m on the subject of trainings, I would really love your comments and feedback. You can leave a comment right here or email or phone me. You all know how to reach me (I hope!) We want our Life-Long Learning Institute to best meet your needs. Tell me what you would like to see happening. Are there topics you feel we don’t have yet that you would like? I’m in the process of fall and winter planning now so this is the time to mention your ideas!!!
I look forward to all you have to say- Shlomit
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