I used to think praise was the one parenting tool that couldn’t hurt anybody. Tell a kid he’s smart. Tell her she’s talented. What’s the downside? It turns out there is one, and it hurts exactly the kids who need encouragement the most. Two Kinds…
If your field trip permission slip just says “permission to attend,” you are both missing an opportunity and taking on unnecessary risk. A permission slip is not a formality. It is a working document that protects children, informs parents, and gives your organization a clear…
On September 29, we’re hosting a free live training on trauma-informed parenting for foster, adoptive, kinship, and stepparents. We named it You Understand the Trauma. Now What? because understanding why a child struggles and knowing what to do about it in the moment are two…
Starting back to school can be both exciting and frightening, particularly for Plan B families. It is normal for students to experience a period of strong emotions, both positive and negative, as the school year begins. Trauma can add an extra layer to that stress….
Imagine your phone rings on a Friday night. A parent says something happened to their child at your program. Within days, your lawyer may tell you to do what a South Carolina pastor just went through: a pastor who refused to answer shouted questions at a…
Tom Rawlings and I are presenting a poster at the ISPCAN 2026 World Congress next week. The poster, “Creating a Just Safety Culture within Youth-Serving Organizations,” makes an argument we think every YSO administrator needs to hear: a written policy does not protect children. A culture that…
The invitation arrives as a one-line email: IEP meeting next Tuesday. By the time you walk in, six adults will already be sitting at that table. You’ll probably see a special education teacher, a general education teacher, a school psychologist, an administrator, and maybe a…
A South Carolina church now faces four criminal defendants and four civil lawsuits, all traced back to a volunteer with a criminal history. The details of that case matter less than the pattern behind it. Most of the failures that lawyers and sources allege in recent…
Our free training webinar on September 29, “You Understand the Trauma. Now What?,” isn’t just theory. You’ll leave with four specific things to try that same night, including one simple shift in how you talk to your child mid-meltdown that changes how fast they calm…
I said yes to fostering before I understood what I was agreeing to. The hard decision, I thought, was the one I made that first day, the paperwork, the training, the home study. I assumed that once I said yes, the deciding part was over…
Every August, as new volunteers sign up for the school year, someone on staff asks the same question. How thorough should this person’s background check be? The instinct is to answer by job title, treating “volunteer” as one category and “staff” as another. That instinct…
Mark your calendar for September 29. We’re hosting a free webinar called, “You Understand the Trauma. Now What?” It’s for foster, adoptive, kinship, and stepparents. You already understand why your child struggles. This training covers what to do about it in the moment. Learn more…