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We Made a Wish Adoption and parenting magazine sharing experiences from all sides of the triangle to give us the tools to help and support our children

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In this article, I explore the different reasons why some children need to be adopted to help you understand what's gone...
13/08/2025

In this article, I explore the different reasons why some children need to be adopted to help you understand what's gone on in their life. I also aim to explain what the adoption process is like and hopefully answer any questions you have.

Comment 'is adoption for me?' and I'll send you the link to the full article.

If you have any questions, please reach out

The legal process and what happens in court proceedings is something I get asked about a lot, and is often the part of t...
14/07/2025

The legal process and what happens in court proceedings is something I get asked about a lot, and is often the part of the process that adopters understand the least.

It’s not something that is covered in any detail as part of the assessment process, so when we put in our applications for adoption orders and things don’t go to plan, it can be an extremely stressful and worrying time for adopters.

I was lucky because I was an HMCTS legal adviser for over 20 years and managed care and adoption cases for a lot of that time, so I knew what to expect. But many adopters don’t.

So, I’m extremely grateful to a family lawyer specialising in adoption law, for writing a series of articles for the magazine covering some of the issues that can affect adoption applications, such as leave to oppose, an application to revoke the placement order and contact.

This month’s introductory article is live now - comment “legal” if you’d like to read it and I’ll send you the link.

Life story work is such a vital part of an adopted child’s development. It helps them understand their history, identity...
19/06/2025

Life story work is such a vital part of an adopted child’s development. It helps them understand their history, identity and why it wasn’t safe for them to live with their birth family.

My daughters have various different resources, but they’re a bit all over the place and not very easy for them to access. Their life story books are great (youngest’s is brilliant) but they’re heavy folders that aren’t particularly easy for them to hold and look at which has got me thinking over the years that there has to be a better way for all of this to be stored.

It turns out there absolutely is.

I was very interested when an email from Sharon at virtual Memory Box landed in my inbox recently, sharing their safe and accessible online tool which has been developed with young people in care and the adults in their lives, so they can store key moments and memories all in one secure place.

Virtual Memory Box are partnering with Adopt North Easy to pilot the boxes so it’s a project that’s very close to my heart.

If you’d like to read this week’s magazine article about how Virtual Memory Box are transforming the way vital life story work and important information is stored for those in care and adopted children, comment “Virtual” and I’ll send you the link.

If you work in children’s services or adoption, I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Leave a comment or send me a message and let me know what you think so I can feed it back to Virtual Memory Box

Life story work is such a vital part of an adopted child's development. It helps them understand their history, identity...
19/06/2025

Life story work is such a vital part of an adopted child's development. It helps them understand their history, identity and why it wasn't safe for them to live with their birth family.

My daughters have various different resources, but they're a bit all over the place and not very easy for them to access. Their life story books are great (youngest's is brilliant) but they're heavy folders that aren't particularly easy for them to hold and look at which has got me thinking over the years that there has to be a better way for all of this to be stored.

It turns out there absolutely is.

I was very interested when an email from Sharon at Virtual Memory Box landed in my inbox recently, sharing their safe and accessible online tool, which has been developed with young people in care and the adults in their lives, so they can store key moments and memories all in one secure place.

Virtual Memory Box is partnering with Adopt North East to pilot the boxes, so it's a project that's very close to my heart.

Click on the link to read this week's magazine article about how Virtual Memory Box are transforming the way vital life story work and important information is stored for those in care and adopted children.

If you work in children's services or adoption, I'd love to know your thoughts on this. Leave a comment or send me a message and let me know what you think, so I can feed it back to Virtual Memory Box

https://wemadeawish.co.uk/using-a-virtual-memory-box-in-adoption

Life story work and contact are vital to help our children understand their history and relationships with their birth f...
17/06/2025

Life story work and contact are vital to help our children understand their history and relationships with their birth family.

Writing letterbox contact is something a lot of adopters struggle with for a lot of reasons including not knowing what to include and getting the tone right.

There are a lot of articles in the magazine about different experiences of letterbox contact, including one from birth mum Sammy who shares things from a birth parent perspective.

If you’d like to read her interview, comment “contact” and I’ll send you the link.

If your child has special educational needs and disabilities, making sure they get the right support at school can be an...
11/06/2025

If your child has special educational needs and disabilities, making sure they get the right support at school can be an uphill battle.

In this week's magazine article, Alice Marshment shares what a SEND Advocate does and how they can help parents navigate the system to ensure their child gets the right support so they can thrive.

Click on the link to read the article.

https://wemadeawish.co.uk/send-advocacy-a-guide-for-parents

This is one of several articles I have published about adoption disruption, because it’s something that isn’t talked abo...
09/06/2025

This is one of several articles I have published about adoption disruption, because it’s something that isn’t talked about enough, particularly during the assessment process.

Anyone thinking about adoption needs to be aware of all sides of the rollercoaster including how difficult it can be when the right support isn’t in place. I’m grateful to Fiona Wells from Our Patch for letting me publish this extremely raw article written by an adopter who shares her experience of not receiving the right support

Comment 'Ellie's Story' for the link to the full article

𝟮𝟬 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀Books are a great way of learning about any subject. Whatever stage of your adoption journe...
03/06/2025

𝟮𝟬 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀

Books are a great way of learning about any subject.

Whatever stage of your adoption journey you’re at, there’s always a book to help you learn more.

So, I thought it would be useful to do a post on some of the adoption books available for parents and children.

My article includes the following titles and many more:
- An Adopter’s Guide to Adoption
- Adopting a child: The definitive guide to adoption in the UK
- The A to Z of Therapeutic Parenting: Strategies and Solutions
- First Steps in Parenting the Child who Hurts: Tiddlers and Toddlers
- Meant to Be

I’d love to know what your favourite adoption books are – let me know in the comments

https://wemadeawish.co.uk/20-of-the-best-adoption-books

It’s called ‘Breakdown’There are hundreds of us out there who have disrupted. Is it easy? No. You may not even be quite ...
02/06/2025

It’s called ‘Breakdown’

There are hundreds of us out there who have disrupted.

Is it easy?
No.
You may not even be quite at that point yet, or you can’t face the fact that you are even thinking like this.

But the fact that you are reading this means that all is not well, and you are most likely desperate.

So, this article is to try to explain the adoption breakdown process, to help you understand what Section 20 (Children Act 1989) (s20) is all about.

And to help prepare you for what might lie ahead if you decide to go down this road.

We are not solicitors, however, and nothing that is contained in this article should be considered legal advice

Read the full article here...
https://wemadeawish.co.uk/an-overview-of-adoption-breakdown

𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁Finding activities and games that help us connect as a family is always on my...
30/05/2025

𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁

Finding activities and games that help us connect as a family is always on my radar so, I thought it was a good time to re-share our review of Beacon Family Services resource packs as the games are a lovely, simple way of reconnecting and having fun together

Read our full recommendation here...
https://wemadeawish.co.uk/adoption-support-beacon-family-services-resource-packs

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: 𝗢𝗹𝗹𝘆 & 𝗟𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘆I love discovering new books, particularly when they’re about adoption. Our eldest daughter was...
29/05/2025

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: 𝗢𝗹𝗹𝘆 & 𝗟𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘆

I love discovering new books, particularly when they’re about adoption.

Our eldest daughter was six when we reviewed the book and was really excited when we opened the parcel. She loved the front cover straight away. She asked what the book was about so I said it was a book about what happens if parents aren’t able to look after their children.

We really enjoyed reading the book.

It’s engaging and fun but deals with big issues sensitively to gently explain why sometimes parents can’t look after their children.

Read our full review here...
https://wemadeawish.co.uk/book-review-olly-lilly

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