Excerpt

The following is an excerpt from "Parenting the Hurt Child"

"The thing that had a huge impact on him was when the police took him from home one week before his legalization and placed him in a detention home for one night. We picked him up in the morning, and he thought we were nuts. People had given him back for less than that. A week later we adopted him. The most important thing you can do for a detached child is keep him."

"Be responsible. Be realistic about your expectations of the child. Set aside the techniques that have worked with other kids--you'll need to be creative with this one. Weird stuff works. Learn to step out of the chaos and be supportive rather than engage in fighting. Give up being embarrassed. Your child's behavior is shocking to people, so expect mixed reactions. Your child's life is more important than anyone's opinion of you or your child--or your methods of dealing with him."

Taken from the testimony of a mother who adopted her eight year old son out of foster care. Hers was his eleventh home.