Adoption Adventures

I met with a support group and we discussed micro-aggressions, what they mean, and how they affect us on a daily basis. It was a great chat and I thought I would share my musings with you.    Have you ever experienced this? How did you handle it? 

Welcome to "Adoption Adventures," the podcast where we share the ups, downs, and everything in between of the adoption journey. In this episode, I am having a little moan about some posts that I have seen and the language used within them.  As an adoptive parent myself, I've experienced frustration and confusion when it comes to the language used in the adoption community. In this episode, I share...

Hey there! It's me, Fathor, and I am thrilled to share with you the latest episode. In this week's show, I am so excited to talk about the amazing birthday present, "Little Dude," gave me. We had such a fantastic time together, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. As an adoptive parent, I cherish these special moments with my Little Dude, and I hope our story will inspire other families goin...

Welcome to "Adoption Adventures," the podcast that explores the ups and downs of adoption and foster care. In this week's episode, we have some exciting news to share: Little Dude has passed his driving test! Join us as we discuss the challenges and triumphs of teaching a teenager to drive, the nervous moments during the test, and the feeling of pride and relief when you find out your child has pa...

In the latest episode of Adoption Adventures, we dive into the vital topic of adoption support and explore the measures being taken to enhance the support given to adoptive families. So, whether you're a seasoned adoptive parent or just starting on your adoption journey, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to build a strong and supportive family through adoption. Tune in now to Adopti...

I've had contact from several agencies this last week all asking for adopters to be more involved in what they are doing and how they are operating. It is great that so many agencies care about what adopters think and it is lovely to have that call to be asked too! 

I had a listener get in touch (after I sent out a message) and ask e to speak about setting boundaries for our children, particularly in the early days, so I have given some details for those early days for us.    Hoping that it will help others in their transitions and early days. 

There have been a few moments over the past few days that have reminded me that we need to be an advocate for our children and for adoption in general. We need to put on our best cheerleader voice and cheer for the wins that our children have and even cheer when they fall down.    As a side note here, I mention a difficult situation that we went through and that it was bothering me, we are all ok...

This episode didn't upload for some reason, so here you have last weeks episode:   As Little Dude gets closer to his exams we are finding ourselves in the same old argument, wanting him to revise and him thinking that he is revising enough, We have however, put a system in place that seems to help a little. 

I have been around a number of conversations lately surrounding transracial adoption. It is a topic that brings all kinds of questions to the table. I wanted to start the conversation and start my musing on the subject. I appreciate that I am coming from a very naïve perspective, so I am always open to learning and hearing what you think. 

I have been working with a new prep group and have asked Little Dude to speak from an Adoptees perspective, I asked him a variety of questions and we cover a range of topics. As you will hear, he only knew the topics just before we spoke, so these are all his genuine responses to the questions and feelings about each subject. We cover:  Contact  Life with two dads  Moving in  Belonging  Difficulti...

I have just joined a group called the Adopter Reference Group, our meeting was at the DfE and we got to start the discussion on what needs to happen to improve things for adopters/adoptees. We talked about contact, trauma-informed schools, support and many other things. Very exciting!    I shall keep you posted on all the updates, but make sure you follow our accounts for all the updates. 

We held an evening with adopters in our Regional Adoption Agency last night discussing all the things that have happened over 2022. We looked at the recommendations adopters have made and the changes that our agencies have been looking to introduce to make an impact in line with the needs of the adopters.    It was wonderful to see how much the adopter voice is valued in our agencies and the work...

Little Dude is causing us all new headaches, granted, it isn't a new problem, it is just a new cycle of it being a problem. It then leads to us asking questions as parents like - Do you still punish teenagers?  Am I being too harsh?  Have I gotten too old to understand?    Have a listen and let me know your thoughts. 

I have had an email come through from a listener who is going through some difficult times at work, they wanted to share their experiences in the hope of spreading the word and getting some advice.    Whilst I am not an employment lawyer, I do have some experience that I have advised on here, I am hoping that it helps. But perhaps this is an area that you know more about.    So, get in touch and l...

Well, for most people, the turkey has just about gone now, we are all full to the brim and just about ready to start working out what day of the week it is again!    I went for a lovely walk with Shadow and thought it was a great time to tell you all about our festive period and what we got up too. Hope you enjoy and look forward to catching up with you again in the New Year

On our Instagram account, I put out a link to NGL and allowed all the followers to ask any questions they wanted without sharing their details. It was a really fun exercise and it turns out, you guys wanted to know more about me! :-)    You can follow our Instagram account too: Adoption. Adventures

I have been to my first observation of another agency's prep group, it was really interesting and I got to see a lot of great work going on. But, this has also highlighted some key issues and considerations that I need to raise with the senior team and also on a wider scale too.    Apologies in advance, I get on my soap box a few times in this episode, I shall blame the cold! 

It's time for Christmas parties and instead of Dad and I going out to enjoy the festivities, it is once again our Little Dude who is reaching for the next egg nog. But then, he wanted to push his luck just a little further and see if our Christmas spirit was in the forgiving mood, check it out and let me know if you would have done the same. 

As part of my work with Adoption UK, we have explored Post Placement Blues and how many people have experienced this. It was a really interesting piece of work and has shone a light on some really important factors.     

As you know, I speak with Little Dudes mum over email on a regular basis, recently she has sent two emails that have given us pause and made us think about how we would talk with Little Dude. He was great when we sat him down to speak, but it then raised further questions that we needed to consider. 

As our children grow older we have to decide what parts of their lives that we will be involved in and what areas we need to give them space on. Then we have to deal with all of those people around us that have an opinion, the struggle is real!! :-)    Here are my views on the latest issues and what we have decided to do about them. 

I was really lucky to be invited to attend a training session with One Adoption West Yorkshire where I learned all about brain-based parenting, the session covered such a great deal of information and helped me to understand some of the behaviours we had seen and continue to see. I have tried to cover as many aspects of this training as I could to help you too. 

In a few conversations recently it has come up that there is a lack of Dads represented within the world of adoption and this then lead me to discuss the gaps that this makes, so it got me thinking about where I have met Dads who are sharing their experiences and wondering why there aren't more of us...   What are your thoughts?    Drop me a line on adoptionadventures123@gmail.com  

I was asked to attend a matching/profiling event and talk about my experience as a parent and how our process was adopting an older child. The whole day was great fun and I got to meet some wonderful people. Our RAA had taken a new approach to the event and I thought that it was a really smart way to launch the event. Have a listen and tell me if you agree. :-)