Talking Tough Topics with Kids: Chat Event Right Here!

Hi Everyone!

Our first monthly chat is scheduled for May 9th. I'm so excited. The topic is great and so is our guest. I hope you can attend. Cissy

Location: Online / Parenting with ACEs Group

It’s hard to know if, when and how to talk to children about abuse, addiction and ACEs. How do we find the right words or time? Please join Beth O’Malley, our special guest for the first in our Parenting with ACEs chat series.

Beth has dedicated her life to supporting kids, adoptees, parents and advocates. She combines her relevant professional and personal experiences and expertise.

Beth was a social worker with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), in Boston for decades.
She was adopted from foster care as a baby.
She is the author of Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child, My Foster Care Journey, as well as other titles.
She became a parent, through adoption.

What's special about Beth is her approach. She's accessible and down-to-earth. She helps adults get comfortable having hard conversations - conversations that make kids feel safe and seen.

She explains why even painful facts, details and truth are necessary for kids, teens and adults. She know secrecy can breed shame and cause confusion. Her guidance is judgment-free, refreshing, wise and kind - and so is she.

Come chat with Beth. Bring your questions, stories and resources.

How to Attend This Chat Event

Come back to the Parenting with ACEs Group home page.
- See the Featured Chat at the top of the page. It will go live on May 9th at 1 PM EST / 10 AM PST.
  - We'll be able to ask Beth questions and have some back and forth with her and one another.

Feel free to invite friends, family or co-workers! Note: They'll need to become a Member of ACEs Connection and the Parenting with ACEs Group first. Share the flyer acched below with details about how and this event.

More About Beth's Life & Work (from her Adoptionlifebooks website)

Personal...

Hi. My name is Beth O’Malley. This is my favorite baby picture. At age 5 months I entered my family by adoption, after living in 2 foster homes.

I grew up in western Massachusetts, in a place called the Berkshires. It’s beautiful. I have one older sister, Nancy. My parents are wonderful and still living in the Berkshires.

I was a happy little girl. But as I entered my teen years the questions started. I felt different. Soon many of my major life events would be related to adoption issues.

I believe that my life would have been very different if I had had my own adoption lifebook! And I was a healthy, white infant adoptee...

Professional...

In 1981, I received my Masters in Counseling from American University in Washington D.C. Soon after, I began working as a social worker in Boston’s inner city. In 1994 I was ready to start my life’s work as an adoption social worker.

Something deep inside of me "became alive" when I began making adoption and foster lifebooks for children in foster care. I started to see the world through a child’s eyes and with different priorities.

I also witnessed the tremendous healing that foster or adoption lifebooks brought to a child with many homes. It became one of the most meaningful things I did as an adoption worker, besides creating families.

Last but not least is the fact that my lifebook work led me to parenthood. Yes, that's right. In October 2003, my husband and I adopted an 11-month-old baby girl named Polina. This experience has been life-altering and adoption lifebook changing.

I share my personal insights and new lifebook/adoption ideas each month in an e-newsletter. Click here to sign up!