AboutRoberta Rosenberg Expertise International Adoption - I am an active member of the adoption community. I have 3 children, 2 adopted from Korea. I can answer all questions about Korean adoption, most questions on international. What I do not know I can easily find out.
(PLEASE NOTE: I cannot answer any questions involving immigration/family adoption legal issues. These matters of local/state/federal law should be discussed with a qualified attorney.)
Experience Beyond my own personal experience as an adoptive parent, I'm also the developer of several websites related to adoption. Adopting from Korea (www.adoptkorea.com) and AdoptShoppe (www.adoptshoppe.com) are just two of my current sites.
Expert: Roberta Rosenberg Date: 5/29/2008 Subject: seriously feeling bad
Question I have a 2 year old whom i love and adore every time i see her smiling and sleeping. however, like any two year old. she is driving me nuts. she wont stop crying and throwing fits. i cannot do anything nice for her and she wont listen. i am a single parent that gets no child support let alone any service from the child support office. i dont wana hurt her at all and i am starting to spank her and hit her. i am to the last straw, i cannot mentally take it any more and it hurts me deeply to know that i will eventually hurt her bad. and i dont want to at all!! i just needa a break badly!! the scary part is that i dont know if i am or am not capable of hurting her. and she is my life. is there any way i can give her to a loving family temporarily untill i get st8 enough without it being a court room drama or making me seem like a bad abisuive mother. i just needa break. please help.
Answer I'm glad you wrote. As a mom to three kids, I know just how hard it is to do the mom thing. Doing it alone makes it all the harder because everything falls on you and that can be overwhelming. Good for you for reaching out!
First, a couple of things:
No two-year old listens well. They can't. They don't as yet have the capacity to understand. Your daughter, however, feels your stress and is reacting to it. That makes everything worse.
As the mom/adult, you need to control yourself. That's hard when you're absolutely feeling like you're at the breaking point.
When you're feeling like you can't take anymore, put your daughter in a safe place - her crib or play yard - and leave the room for a few minutes. Get a drink of water and count to 10. Do breathe until you calm down. Come back to her when you're calmer.
Yes, you CAN do this.
** Next, I want you call 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453)
Then Push 1 to Talk to a Hotline Counselor. **
The call is free and confidential and is available to you anytime 24/7. They have a ton of information and won't judge you. They just want to help you be the best mom you can to your little girl.
