Northwest Georgia Elks Aidmore Inc. - Therapeutic Foster Care

03/16/2026

The facts behind this are so heartbreaking! We can help you get started on your journey to make a difference!

Just the hard truth that we can’t turn a blind eye to. How can we realistically change this outrageous number?

03/14/2026

Perspective changes everything.

02/18/2026

One of the reasons it’s so important to support youth who age out of foster care is because we want to make sure they are equipped to stop the cycle.

Statistics show that former foster youth have a significantly higher chance of CPS involvement with their own children later in life.

Not because they don’t love their kids, but because many of them leave foster care with no family, no safety net & very little support.

Research shows:
• Former foster youth are more likely to become parents at a young age.
• Their children are several times more likely to be investigated by CPS.
• In some studies, nearly half of babies born to moms who were former foster youth entered care by age two.

To me, this sounds like a systems failure.

Imagine turning 18 & you don’t have any type of family to lean on, losing your home, your caseworker, your services & your support.

Then being expected to figure it out on your own. Throw in having to financially provide for & raise a child completely on your own while carrying unresolved trauma from your own childhood.

We don’t break generational cycles by abandoning kids at 18 & then punishing them when they struggle to parent. We break them by supporting them sooner.

That looks like:
• housing
• therapy
• parenting education
• mentoring
• community
• mentors who are committed & don’t disappear when they turn 18

If we truly care about children in foster care, we have to care about the children in care who grew up & became parents too. Because helping aged out foster youth succeed as adults could mean fewer children entering foster care in the future.

This is prevention.
It’s how cycles actually end.

01/12/2026

It can definitely feel like it, but kids aren't deliberately trying to drive us crazy. They are struggling to manage their emotions which can set off our triggers. That's why it is helpful to work out what your triggers are and work out how to manage them before you kids push those buttons.
More information in my book

Guidance from The Therapist Parent

Available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com

Or Amazon

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12/21/2025

My heart is so heavy this holiday season thinking about all the children who need a little extra love. ❤️🎄

If you have love to spare, please consider opening your home to foster care. 🏡 If opening your home isn’t possible right now, there are so many other meaningful ways to help. 🤍

Please reach out to Bethany with Elks Aidmore — she is an incredible resource and can guide you no matter what level of impact you’re able to make. 📞✨

“Fostering may not change the world, but it can change the world for one child.” 💫

It truly takes a village to support our children. Building that village matters more than ever — especially during this season and with all the challenges within the system. 🤝❤️

12/08/2025

From October onwards, Christmas decorations and festivities are everywhere — but for some children, all that change and sensory input can be overwhelming. The stress builds slowly, and the tricky behaviour often shows up days later. It’s easy to label it as “naughty” or “defiant,” but many kids are simply overloaded. Blinking lights, sparkly decorations, noisy trinkets, routine changes… it all adds up, even when we don’t realise it.

If this season feels big for your little one, you’re not alone — and you can support them with the right tools.

For practical, evidence-based strategies to help your child regulate, build resilience and navigate overwhelm, my book 📖 Guidance from The Therapist Parent is a powerful resource for every family.

Find it here: www.thetherapistparent.com/books

More information on my blog:
https://www.thetherapistparent.com/post/managing-christmas-meltdowns

positiveparenting gentleparenting respectfulparenting resilience consciousparenting

11/21/2025

Children can’t learn when they’re overwhelmed.

Their brain needs: 💛 Safety
💛 Connection
💛 Regulation
➡️ THEN learning becomes possible.

If your child is struggling to listen or take things in, they’re not being difficult — their brain is stuck on an earlier step.

You can’t teach a nervous system in survival mode.
Start where they are, not where you wish they were.

📖 For practical, gentle tools to support emotional development, my book Guidance from The Therapist Parent is available at www.thetherapistparent.com and on Amazon.

11/21/2025

Take a moment and check this out!

Have you ever noticed how your child can go from calm to explosive in seconds? Dan Siegel’s Upstairs / Downstairs Brain is a simple way to understand why.

The 'downstairs brain' is in charge of big emotions, survival instincts and staying safe. It reacts quickly – think fight, flight, freeze.

The 'upstairs brain' is where problem-solving, empathy, and reasoning live. It helps children make good choices, manage feelings, and connect with others.

But here’s the catch: children’s upstairs brains are still under construction. That means when emotions overwhelm, their downstairs brain often takes over.

This isn’t 'bad behaviour' – it’s biology. When we see it this way, we can respond with compassion, co-regulation, and strategies that help a young person move from downstairs to upstairs.
Resources to support educating a child around this model are available in our Resource Store.
EMOTIONS and MY BRAIN
This extensive resource pack based on Dan Siegel’s Upstairs and Downstairs Brain
helps and educates children and young people on the concept of the upstairs and downstairs brain can help them recognise how their own brain functions and develop strategies for self-regulation and emotional intelligence.
The pack comprises explainers, emotions scale resources, practical activities including upstairs and downstairs brain choices (behaviours), stress response, amygdala hijack, explainers for both adults and young people and activities to consolidate learning around parts of the brain and functions. Also includes 5 skin tone range of emotions.

Varying resources to suit ages 6-16yrs. Now also available as an 8 week intervention.
Electronic download available at link in comments or via our Linktree Shop in Bio.

FOLLOW for more posts in our series, When Worries Take Over.

11/14/2025

Facts

10/29/2025

Your child isn’t giving you a hard time — they’re having a hard time managing big impulses with a small brain still under construction.
Connection teaches regulation far more effectively than consequences. 💛

📖 More on understanding your child’s behaviour in my book Guidance from The Therapist Parent, available on www.thetherapistparent.com and Amazon.

10/28/2025

11/03/2022

Read it twice.