By definition, a foster child who comes into your home will have suffered the loss of their biological family. Many of the children LHFAM work with come from a background of abuse and neglect. As foster and adoptive parents, you will want to become the “resident experts” of the child’s needs in your home. Below are some resources to help get you started.
Recommended Books
The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family
by Dr. Karyn Purvis, Dr. David Cross and Wendy
Information and practical interventions for parents of adopted children who have experienced severe trauma and abuse.
The Connected Parent: Real-Life Strategies for Building Trust and Attachment
by Lisa Qualls and Dr. Karyn Purvis
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
The Out-of-Sync Child
by Carol Kranowitz
Information and practical interventions for parents, teachers, and mental health care professionals who provide services for children with Sensory Processing Disorder.
The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, Revised Edition: Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder
by Carol Kranowitz
Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew
by Sherrie Eldridge
Wounded Children, Healing Homes: How Traumatized Children Impact Adoptive and Foster Families
by Jayne E. Schooler, Betsy Keefer Smalley, and Timothy J. Callahan
Attachment-Focused Parenting: Effective Strategies to Care for Children
by Daniel Hughes
Attachment focused interventions and information regarding healthy brain development and neurochemistry for parents of children who have experienced trauma.
The Attachment Parenting Book: A Commonsense Guide to Understand and Nurturing Your Baby
by Martha Sears and William Sears
Information regarding attachment parenting.
The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition)
by William Sears
Information regarding attachment parenting.
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook–What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us about Loss, Love, and Healing
by Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz
Information regarding the long-term effects of trauma and abuse.
The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are
by Daniel Siegel
Provides information regarding how interpersonal relationships affect the developing brain.
Fun to Grow On: Engaging Play Activities for Kids with Teachers, Parents, and Grandparents
by Virginia K. Morin and David Sokoloff
Activities for children that provide life lessons and encourage connecting and engaging.
The Happiest Toddler on the Block: How to Eliminate Tantrums and Raise a Patient, Respectful, and Cooperative One-to–Four-Year-Old: Revised Edition
by Dr. Harvey Karp
Provides practical interventions for parents of toddlers that promote attachment.
I Love You Rituals
by Rebecca Ann Bailey
Activities for parents and children that facilitate attachment.
Nurturing Adoptions: Creating Resilience after Neglect and Trauma
by Deborah D. Gray
Information regarding attachment, the effects of early trauma, affect regulation, and healthy mental development.
Parenting from the Inside Out
by Daniel Siegel
Provides parents with a base to explore their personal history and the effects of that history in regard to their parenting and attachment style.
The Successful Child: What Parents Can Do to Help Kids Turn Out Well
by William Sears, Martha Sears, and Elizabeth Pantley
Practical information regarding raising secure, compassionate, and emotionally healthy children.
Touchpoints: Birth to Three
by T.Berry Brazelton and Joshua D. Sparrow
Information regarding critical periods for attachment development in children from birth to 3 years of age.
Touchpoints: 3 to 6
by T. Berry Brazelton and Joshua D. Sparrow
Information regarding critical periods for attachment development in children from 3 to 6 years old.
The Power of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes Who Our Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired
by Daniel J. Siegel
How parental presence shapes who our kids become and how their brains get wired.
Reframing Foster Care: Filtering Your Foster Parenting Journey Through the Lens of the Gospel
by Jason Johnson
Filtering your foster parenting journey through the lens of the gospel.
Foster the Family: Encouragement, Hope, and Practical Help for the Christian Foster Parent
by Jamie C. Finn
Encouragement, Hope, and Practical Help for the Christian Foster Parent.
How We Love Our Kids: The Five Love Styles of Parenting
by Milan and Kay Yerkovich
The 5 love styles of parenting – one small change in you… one big change in your kids.
Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul
by Stuart Brown and Christopher Vaughan
