Episode notes
Every child who joins a family through adoption or foster care has experienced at least one significant loss. Love gives them a safe place to process it, but love does not erase it.
Episode Summary
In this episode, Maxine looks at the loss a child carries into even the safest, most loving home. She talks about why "we give them everything" doesn't explain the behaviors so many adoptive parents see, how experiences before a child arrives (including in the womb) can shape the developing brain and nervous system, and why grief so often shows up sideways.
What You'll Learn
- Why every adopted or fostered child carries loss, even a child placed at birth
- How early and in-utero experiences can shape a child's triggers and daily functioning years later
- How to hold two truths at once: the placement is good for your child, and your child is grieving something real
- What grief looks like in a child who doesn't yet have the words for it: irritability, silliness, refusing to talk about the past, or asking the same question about a birth parent again and again
Who This Is For
Adoptive, foster and kinship parents who are giving their child everything and still wondering why the behaviors haven't changed.
A Line Worth Sitting With
"Love does not erase that loss. It gives a child a safe place to eventually process it."
Center for Parent Coaching, Brainspotting & Therapy. Train. Transform. Thrive.