Articles
Healing from Trauma/Neglect/Abuse
Life Skills to Build Capable Young Adults
When you're raising a grandchild, niece, nephew, or other young family members, you're not just stepping in — you're standing in the gap. Many of these kids carry heavy stories: trauma, abuse, family separation, prenatal substance exposure and more. You hold dear the...
Helping Kids Heal and Grow: The Power of Positive Childhood Experiences
If you’ve been reading articles on this site for a while now, you probably know about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). These are tough or scary things a child goes through—like abuse, neglect, or losing a parent. According to the Centers for Disease Control,...
Keeping Tweens and Teens Busy During Summer Break
Most kids look forward to summer break. The school year is over, the days are long, and there's more time to relax, be outside, and have fun. But after a while, you will likely hear “I’m so bored” or see signs of their restlessness. Many kids who have experienced...
Impacts of Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Drugs
Helping Your Grandchild Avoid Substance Abuse
The time your grandchild spends in your care, in the nurturing, stable environment of your home, can be a powerful force that protects them from risky behaviors like underage drinking or drug use. You know that you cannot erase the experiences this child had before...
Caring For Prenatally Exposed Babies
Did you know that 10-11% of babies born in the US have been exposed to alcohol, drugs, or both before birth? The percentage is even higher for kids who are being raised by their grandparents or other relatives. And remember that drug exposure can include both legal...
5 Keys to Finding Joy When Raising Kids with Prenatal Exposure
Raising a child with prenatal exposure can be like a never-ending cycle of repetition. Holding tight routines and rigid structures can be tiring. The monotony can stress you, even when you know this is what is best for this child. As with any challenge in life, it's...
Challenging Behaviors
When a Student Refuses to Comply with School Supports – Part 2
When a child has learning challenges, they may receive special support and services through an IEP (individualized educational plan) or 505 plan. These accommodations and resources are unique to this child's learning style or struggles. They can be a combination of...
When a Student Refuses to Comply with School Supports – Part 1
When a child struggles in school, they often receive special support and services through an IEP (individualized educational plan) or 505 plan. These accommodations and resources are unique to this child's learning style or struggles. They can be a combination of...
Potty Training a Child Who Had Prenatal Substance Exposure
Potty training your young grandchild, niece, or nephew is a huge milestone in gaining independence for you all. Grandparents and relative caregivers may feel overwhelmed with where to start and how long it will take. Every child is different, and there is a wide range...
ADHD
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Disrupting Birth Order
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Helping A Child Heal from Sexual Abuse
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School Issues for Foster & Kinship Kids
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Technology/Internet and Our Kids
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Self-Care for Kinship and Foster Parents
Planning for Self-Care that You Can Maintain
As you learn more about how loss and grief impact your grandchildren (or nieces and nephews), hopefully, you are also learning the importance of taking care of yourself. When stepping in to care for vulnerable kids or family members in crisis, you may also be feeling...
4 Quick Tips for Protecting Your Marriage or Partnership
Marriage or life partnership is hard work. Balancing your needs as an individual with the needs of your relationship requires attention to your schedules and developing habits to carve out the time to nurture this connection. When raising a grandchild, niece, or...
Tips to Help Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
When you are a grandparent suddenly raising your grandchildren, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the changes and needs you must consider. You might also be an aunt or family friend raising young children from your extended family or tribal community. Many factors can...
Relationship with Child’s Parent
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Working Together For the Good of the Child In Your Care
Preparing Teens with Cognitive Delays for Adulthood
Have you heard from a doctor or a teacher that your grandchild (or niece or cousin) has “cognitive delays”? Or maybe you’ve heard that the child has developmental delays or an intellectual disability. Whatever it is called, you know that this child develops and learns...
10 Tips for Shared Parenting in Difficult Situations
In an ideal world, helping raise your grandchild (or cousin or family friend) goes smoothly. You provide a safe, happy landing place for the child while the parents work hard to get back on their feet. All the involved adults share the same goal of returning the child...
Raising Adolescents (tweens/teens)
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Supporting Healthy Relationships/Attachment
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This website was supported with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families’ Children’s Bureau through the Improving Child Welfare Through Investing in Family grant #HHS-2021-ACF-ACYF-CW-1921. The purpose of this grant is to provide an array of kinship preparation services and ongoing kinship supports, and provide shared parenting to build trusting relationships between all out-of-home caregivers and parents of children/youth in foster care to ensure parents and families remain actively involved in normal child-rearing activities.
This website is supported by Grant Number 90CW1149 (HHS-2021-ACF-ACYF-CW-1921) from the Children’s Bureau within the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Neither the Administration for Children and Families nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Administration for Children and Families and the Children’s Bureau.