Tag Archives: Parenting

MILLIONS OF KIDS ARE SENT TO SCHOOL EVERY DAY with the expectation of a safe return home. Our notion of this guarantee has been shattered, leaving adults feeling as though their children are not safe and children feeling vulnerable to danger. Since it is the job of the adults in a society to keep children safe,Read More

This year, I will once again get to experience Halloween through the eyes of a child. Now that we have four foster children, we will be busy picking out costumes, attempting to secretly substitute candy for toothbrushes and floss, and equipping our kids with whistles and the know-how to yell “Stranger Danger!” when they feelRead More

Confused, saddened and embarrassed. These are words I’d use to describe what I was feeling the day I walked back into my third-grade classroom after watching Alex Haley’s Roots the night prior. My class was supposed to watch the humiliation of my ancestors as a part of our history lesson. What I watched was people that looked like me — brown eyes and brown skin of varying shades — being whipped and beaten, treated as animals or worse, because I’d never seen animals treated that way.

It’s always difficult for children who have been taken from their families and are living in foster care, are adopted by a new family, or live in a residential facility. Even more challenging is when children of color are placed with White foster and adoptive families. This happens often and creates special cultural challenges. Since our culture is predominantly White (consider the lack of characters of color in children’s media), it may be especially difficult for foster and adoptive parents to provide children of color with adequate exposure and interaction with their cultures of origin, and sometimes to assist the children with everyday needs.

Why is American Humane Association — the nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals –discussing the Super Bowl, the most anticipated and highly celebrated annual sporting event in the U.S.? Is there really a connection between this great event and child abuse and neglect? Read on…