The Connected Child

Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family

By: Karyn B. Purvis, David R. Cross, Wendy Lyons Sunshine

Narrated by: Anna Crowe

Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

"An extremely useful parenting handbook...truly outstanding...strongly recommended." (Library Journal, starred review)

"A tremendous resource for parents and professionals alike." (Thomas Atwood, president and CEO, National Council for Adoption)

The adoption of a child is always a joyous moment in the life of a family. Some adoptions, though, present unique challenges. Welcoming these children into your family - and addressing their special needs - requires care, consideration, and compassion.

Written by two research psychologists specializing in adoption and attachment, The Connected Child will help you:

• Build bonds of affection and trust with your adopted child
• Effectively deal with any learning or behavioral disorders
• Discipline your child with love without making him or her feel threatened

"A must-read not only for adoptive parents, but for all families striving to correct and connect with their children." (Carol S. Kranowitz, author of The Out-of-Sync Child)

"Drs. Purvis and Cross have thrown a life preserver not only to those just entering uncharted waters, but also to those struggling to stay afloat." (Kathleen E. Morris, editor of S. I. Focus magazine)

"Truly an exceptional, innovative work...compassionate, accessible, and founded on a breadth of scientific knowledge and clinical expertise." (Susan Livingston Smith, program director, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute)

"The Connected Child is the literary equivalent of an airline oxygen mask and instructions: place the mask over your own face first, then over the nose of your child. This book first assists the parent, saying, in effect, 'Calm down, you're not the first mom or dad in the world to face this hurdle, breathe deeply, then follow these simple steps.' The sense of not facing these issues alone - the relief that your child's behavior is not off the charts - is hugely comforting. Other children have behaved this way; other parents have responded thusly; welcome to the community of therapeutic and joyful adoptive families." (Melissa Fay Greene, author of There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children)

©2019 McGraw-Hill Education (P)2007 McGraw Hill-Ascent Audio

Be healed and whole

Great info for all families and relationships. Learn to truly love and be loved in family style relationships.

Great book for healing

Great not only for what to expect when adopting but to heal our own wounds and habits before the child comes home - healthier living and habits for all of us!

Very helpful

I appreciate Karen sharing so many insights and opportunities to try with each child that we love! Well, there is no blanket to treat every single person, many of the things shared in this book are helpful, insightful, and worth implementing, at least for a while!

Worth the read/listen

Good book specific to foster/adopt. I really like how nutrition is addressed at the end!! Nutrition is so often forgotten or left out & then when it's not, it's out dated & worthless but not in this book. It's only highlighted in one chapter but the info is accurate and up to date which is fantastic!! if you need more on nutrition, get the book Deep Nutrition (like the title suggests, it really is a deep dive into nutrition!).
As for other child development books, I reccomend The Whole Brain Child. and also No Drama Discipline. Those two are great to go with this book to give you a well rounded education & view.

Needed this 3 years ago. so glad I found it!!

Absolutely enjoyed this book, it was real. It was down-to-earth. It has practical skills to work with, Thank you for a packed insight to children from hard places.

Incredibly helpful

Practical advice and strategies for connecting with children from hard places. I am a foster and adoptive mom, and this book has proven itself in my family.

good advice in a condescending package

I found The Adoptive Parents Handbook much more useful.

This book is:
-focused on babies and toddlers
-written directly to moms, apparently other kinds of parents need not apply
-full of high level concepts and highly specific examples with not much practical advice in between.
-can be contradictory between one chapter and another.
-seems to imply you can't be a good parent to an adopted child unless you can spend 100% of your day focused on them *see the example daily schedule*. tells you to give up things like "the women's club" like that's what's keeping people from spending time with their kids, not work and home repair.
- clearly written by privileged people who assume their reader is privileged too.

I'm not sure if it is the book or the way it is being read but it can be incredibly dismissive and condescending. telling mothers not to "nag and whine" many times over.

Listen to this book, it WILL HELP

If you’re having issues with a kid, behavioral wise, a RAD kid, or just DMDD, ODD, just ADHD in general… this book will help. It Validates your feelings, teaches you how to forgive yourself and do that first, because once you’re healed or on the path to it, THEN you can begin to try and Heal your Child. I never listen to stuff like this, My wife got it for us years ago and I wished I had listened to her yet again… I could have saved us a lot of pain and maybe even started my baby girl on her path to healing sooner. Don’t take your amazing selfless spouse for granted. They don’t deserve it and it just makes things so much worse. Listen to them. And this Book.

Great book 2nd time I read it!

The first time I read this book, I was far too overwhelmed with six foster children, who I was adopting, the second time around unfortunately, probably eight years later I was able to receive the nuggets. It was trying to give in the first place. Thankfully I had found a therapeutic parenting program a few years prior, but I think this is a really good book to read. There are a couple areas I would not agree with, but other than that a good read and very informational.

Useful information, could use a 2022 update

Good information, although the authors seem to presume a stay-at- home mom is reading.