Attachment Adoption tip #50

One thing that all adoptive parents have in common is wanting our children to attach to us in a healthy way as early as possible. Along with some good books out there, some good agency’s and social worker’s advice to help us, there are also some great websites. Here are a couple that I have heard of and visited. The first was made for parents adopting from China, but can be used by parents adopting from any country, the address is http://attach-china.org. I believe they also have a forum on this one if you care to interact with other parents
The second is http://www.a4everfamily.org , this one has checklists to give you a score on how things are going. It is important to remember that even if your child is doing 1 or 2 things on the checklist that it doesn’t always mean that they have poor attachment, but if there is a high score on more than a 1 or 2 items then you should really check into it more. There is also a list on site that shows you signs of healthy attachment. It is so comforting to read this list and see that your child is doing most of these things and makes you smile each time you realize that your child is gaining even more of these signs. Also remember that it does take time for the child to attach as they were just taken away from everything and everyone that they knew and they do need some time to learn that you are trustworthy. Some columns listed on this website’s main menu include, ATTACHMENT 101, SYMPTOMS, ATTACHMENT ACTIVITIES, HOPE AND HEALING, SUCCESS STORIES, FAMILY MATTERS, RESOURCES, AND 4EVER FAMILY STORIES.
Even though attachment is an issue that we all need to be aware of, there at least is a lot of help out there to give our kids and ourselves through this journey of adoption.
If you have any other good attachment websites please feel free to write and leave them on the comments section.