Welcoming strangers : nonviolent re-parenting of children in foster care / Jane Hall Fitz-Gibbon, Andrew Fitz-Gibbon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fitz-Gibbon, Jane (Jane Hall), author.

Fitz-Gibbon, Andrew L., 1951- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Foster home care--United States.

Foster home care.

United States.

Foster children--United States.

Foster children.

Abused children--Services for--United States.

Abused children.

Abused children--Services for.

Child welfare--United States.

Child welfare.

Physical Description:

180 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, New Jersey : Transaction Publishers, [2016]

Summary:

"Jane Hall Fitz-Gibbon and Andrew Fitz-Gibbon have cared for more than 100 children in a foster care career spanning more than three decades. They developed a method, "loving nonviolent re-parenting," to best care for foster children. "Re-parenting" represents the complex task of caring for children who have been parented already, often inadequately, and mostly involving physical, emotional, and/or systemic violence. Welcoming Strangers analyzes the violence foster children suffer and raises ethical questions-why violence is morally problematic, what philosophers have said about human nature and violence, and what moral good should be pursued in childcare. Drawing on an ancient form of ethics, sometimes known as "virtue ethics," this book focuses on the traits required to become a loving, nonviolent re-parent. The Fitz-Gibbons tell of their journey in the foster care system with candor, humor, and grace. Covering subjects as diverse as teens, sex, discipline, and the carer's own well-being, they describe the difficulties of foster care and the sometimes impossible task of restoring dignity and joy to young lives deeply damaged by violence. This book will be of immense help to foster carers, adopters, caseworkers, case managers, policymakers, and any parent who wants to integrate nonviolent practices into the way they care for children." -- Page [4] of cover.

Contents:

Introduction : welcoming strangers

Responding to a major need

The multiple violences suffered by children in care

Larger-houses, more children

Thinking further about violence

Why re-parenting?

Teens, tantrums, sex, and substance abuse

A question of ethics : how shall we live?

The long term : permanence, adoption, returning home, and keeping in touch

Spanking, discipline, and nonviolence

Loving nonviolent habits and virtues

Second-hand shock syndrome and caring for yourself

Praxis : creating a nonviolent home with the ordinariness of love

Addendum : money can't buy me love.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781412863209

1412863201

OCLC:

932172026