3 Quotes by Karyn B. Purvis

Only a secure mother can say, “Tell me what hurts, sweetheart,” and listen attentively and respectfully to the answer. When an adult is avoiding her own history, entangled in her past, or disorganized about her losses, she can’t accurately assess and respond to a harmed child’s reality. Only a secure mother can find the heart of the highest-risk child.

Start the healing process by keeping a journal of your child’s daily activities and behavior, marking down routine events along with the behavior that accompanies these events. After about a week or two of journaling, parents find that patterns emerge.

Not all models of professional therapeutic play are identical. Some therapies take a passive, unstructured approach, and these are not effective for at-risk children with a history of neglect or orphanage rearing.