Ethiopian Embassy

First ... Our dossier left CAFAC on April 5 for Foreign Affairs It arrived back at CAFAC on April 18. What was estimated to take three weeks took thirteen days. More recently, the dossier left CAFAC again on Monday [April 24] and arrived at the Ethiopian Embassy in Ontario today [April 26]. Things continue to be proceeding quickly, with no glitches. We have not received our passports yet [no rush] and we are still waiting for our immigration approval [which is time sensitive]. If all goes well, our dossier should be in Africa before the end of May.

Second ... Parenting course went well last night. The topic was discipline. Discipline and punishment are two different things; punishment of course not being the desirable option. Methods of discipline include:

Distract the child ... a toy instead of a vase
Ignore misbehaviour ... demanding negative attention
Structure the environment ... child proofing
Control the situation, not the child ... set limits and give choices
Involve the child ... chosing consequences
Plan time for loving ... routine special time
Let go ... build confidence
Increase your consistency ... even in public
Notice positive behaviour ... gives more opportunity to say yes
Excuse the child with a time out ... last resort to regain self control

I could go into more about these methods, but I am sure none of you planned on scheduling a lecture while surfing the internet. Besides, the appropriate way to discipline a child can become a controversial topic, which we would like to avoid on our adoption story.

Thanks for reading ...