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We all live near by and are making an effort to help the children form bonds. The children are 1 month boy (foster/to adopt), 2 years boy (adopted), almost 8 boy and 14 girl. (both raised by my mother, guardianship).
The boys are doing great, the two middle boys play like they've always known eachother, and they like the idea of the baby boy.
As you can imagine the 14 girl is not terribly interested in any of this and hates her birthmother (justified). She is in therapy and I am sure part if it is her age also. I am not going to involve myself with her biomom stuff, but I would like to help her feel more comfortable with her brothers.
Any suggestions?
Their birthmother is in a half way house, has a sponsor, and is doing well for the first time in, I cannot remember when. As long as she is doing well we are allowing the boys to have suppervised visits. Her older daughter will have nothing to do with that. I am leaving that up to her therapist and my mother, while remaining a friend/aunt type figure for her.
Any suggestions or observations are welcome.
Perahaps some opportunities for them to get together and for her to be the reason. Not because they all share a mother but because they are family and they look up to her. I would have the little ones call her to say hi or draw her pictures. But she may resent the way they were helped or treated and I know from having my oldest she's really angry at the little ones because if they hadn't come along maybe mom would have been as to keep it together.
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kjtadoptee
As you can imagine the 14 girl is not terribly interested in any of this and hates her birthmother (justified). She is in therapy and I am sure part if it is her age also. I am not going to involve myself with her biomom stuff, but I would like to help her feel more comfortable with her brothers.
I'm not sure that at the moment anything you do is going to make a teenager girl comfortable with little boys....The whole teen factor in addition to the history. But I do think that just getting together will have an impact on her as she gets older. Sometimes those "have to moments" when we're young become treasured memories as we get older. At the time though....uncomfortable, not fun, burdensome.
Something that I do to incourage my nephew who is 14 to interact with LG (8/autistic), is have him do things for LG. Things like the night-night story. Hold his hand while we walk near a road. At first, it was a little uncomfortable (though my nephew really adores LG---and kept asking me why I couldn't just go get LG when LG was reunifed to "bring him home"). Now, he's caught on that he's LG's hero and his shoulders go back and he seeks those opportunities.