Food/feeding issues

Feeding and attachment

The attachment cycle is fulfilled by meeting a child’s physical and emotional needs—feeling hunger, needing attention, being wet or cold—over and over again. Feeding is one of the most reliable and obvious opportunities to help a child feel safe and cared for, and to build trust, whether you have brought home an infant or an older child.

Definition
The placement of a child in an institution, such as an orphanage or group home, usually characterized by a large number of children and few caregivers. Unfortunately there is commonly a lack of financial resources, and caregivers, which leads to a number of problems for the children in their care.

Causes
A lack of staff, resources, and money creates a situation in which the children do not receive the type of care they need to thrive.

Definition
Helicobacter Pylori (HP) is a bacteria that lives in the stomach of a patient. It can survive the harsh acid climate of the stomach by hiding in the mucous lining, which protects the stomach from its own gastric juices. White blood cells arrive to defeat the invading infection but they are unable to do so. They die trying, and their death releases toxins, which were supposed to be used against intruders. Instead their deaths damage the stomach causing pain and often ulcers.

In the 26th of our series, our mom of three kids--Emily, Grant, and Lynn--prepares for Halloween. It's an event that, and she’s not sure why, triggers difficult behaviour from Lynn. As Lynn’s behaviour escalates, Mom makes a discovery that results in Lynn learning a hard Halloween lesson.

I feel like the meanest mom in the world. Why does being a “good” mom have to feel so bad sometimes?

In the 29th of our series, our mom of three kids, Emily, Grant and Lynn, is beside herself when she discovers evidence of Lynn’s bingeing.

Again! Here I am again, writing about food issues. I thought we had dealt with all of this crap. But, clearly, that’s not the case. How many freaking times do we have to go through this? I am so frustrated and angry. It just never ends.

In the 30th of our series, our mom of three kids, Emily, Grant and Lynn, continues her struggle to help Lynn with her food issues.

We need help. Seriously. We need serious help. Seriously.

In the 35th of our series, our mom finally receives a diagnosis for her daughter--and it’s not the one she’s expecting.

We just got the results from the assessment that was done on Lynn. I’m really conflicted about the information in that report.

Many people assume that breastfeeding is not an option in adoption. P’nina Shames interviewed two Kootenay- based adoptive moms, Carol and Sherri, who were successful. Here they share some of their secrets.

Why did you breastfeed?

Carol: I wanted to create the same bond with my adopted child that I have with my biological child. Besides being good for the baby, studies show that it helps reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Kelly Spicer visited numerous orphanages in North Korea (DPRK) in November 2010 with First Steps, a Vancouver-based non-profit, whose mission is to prevent childhood malnutrition. While there, she captured the hope and suffering she encountered in a diary of her experiences.

Nov. 23: What am I doing in North Korea? I still can’t even believe that I am here!

How to handle the tough job of parenting a child who has never experienced proper parenting.

When Ethan’s foster mom, Julie, found a knife under his pillow she was extremely alarmed and immediately put in an urgent call to his caseworker

The reason 10-year-old Ethan went to bed accompanied by a knife, rather than a teddy bear, was because he’d lived in a birth family where drug deals, violence, and abuse were the order of the day. Ethan hadn’t been able to rely on his parents to protect him, so he had learned to protect himself.