Hope Rising

This Holiday season we are blessed to have the support of our donors and foundations that help us continue to promote hope and healing for the youths in our program. .texaschildrens generously donated non-perishable boxes at Thanksgiving to accompany gift cards donated by . We hosted our Christmas party Dec. 4th where Santa made an appearance. .texaschildrens generously collected gifts for our youths that we were able to distribute at our party. Christmas time is the season of giving and helping others, during our party we assembled activity bags to donate to a children’s hospital to spread joy and well wishes.

November marks National Adoption Awareness Month! In the state of Texas, we have 3,800 children and teenagers waiting to be adopted. Do you know someone who was adopted, or have you adopted a child yourself? We'd love to read your story if you are willing to share!!

It's nearing Halloween and you (or your kids, anyway) are super excited! You've bought the cute little costume, the cute little candy pail, and all the candy. But Halloween hits and your kiddo is just in a mood.

We're talking meltdowns, tantrums, "No, no, no, no!!" all over the place! It's frustrating and confusing. You're thinking to yourself (and maybe saying out loud), "you were literally jumping for joy about this yesterday! What happened?" Well...let us tell you what happened. A transition. A change. A memory. A trigger. One, or all, of those things happened.

Remember, kiddos process their lives and experiences as separate individuals. Their life is full of experiences that are different than yours. Some happy, some scary and some sad. Halloween, or any holiday, can be triggering for many reasons.

So, what do we do when that tantrum or meltdown happens? Or rather, how can we avoid it? Prepare, prepare, prepare.

Days before a holiday, begin preparing for it. Count down to it. Go over what that day will look like from waking up to going to bed. Go over it multiple times. Maybe even practice it. And, when that kiddo does show some big emotions, help them through it.

"I can see you are a little scared right now. That's okay. I get scared sometimes, too. I am going to be with you until you are ready to_____ (fill in the blank)." Or, "I can see you are feeling a little overwhelmed right now. It's okay to feel overwhelmed, but it is not okay to run away from me. I am going to stay with you to keep you safe while we trick or treat."

You may get push back. That's okay! But hold onto that boundary and help them through those big emotions.