35th Annual New England Adoption Conference Scheduled for Saturday, April 5th

Many adoptive and pre-adoptive parents seek out the wide array of workshops at the annual New England Adoption Conference. And, as always, the 35th conference will have plenty to interest them, whether their children are tots or teens.
At this year's April 5 conference, however, there will be more workshops and information aimed at other groups affected by adoption, too.
"We're trying to reach out more and more to the other triad members - birth families and adopted people," said Nancy Harper, who is in her first year as executive director of the Adoption Community of New England, which sponsors the conference. Both groups will be part of panel discussions, for example. "We're hearing from birth families that they'd like to hear from and see adoptees at the workshops and vice versa."
The four workshop periods during the day-long conference feature adoption experts and advocates from across the country.
This year, more than 20 of the workshops will provide prospective adoptive parents with credit toward the new 10 hours of training mandated by the U.S. Government's Hague Treaty on Intercountry Adoptions. Some of the qualifying workshops include "Medical Issues in Intercountry Adoption," "Birth Families in Intercountry Adoption Do Matter," "Grief and Loss Behaviors in Adopted Children," and "Complex Neurodevelopmental Profiles."
Harper anticipates the conference will attract more than the usual number of attendees because of the convenience of the Hague-qualified workshops.
While many of the presenters will be returning from past years, the conference will also feature many new workshops.
"Adoption has influence through one's whole life, whether for an adopted person, a birth parent, an adoptive family or an extended family. It has a long-lasting impact, and this conference is for all those touched by adoption. We definitely have something for everyone," she said.


CONFERENCE DETAILS & REGISTRATION:
The 35th Annual New England Adoption Conference will be held
on Saturday, April 5, at Westborough's Mill Pond School on Old Hickory Path.

Check-in begins at 8 a.m., with a cash breakfast bar.

Keynote speaker Jayne Schooler will be featured after an 8:30 a.m. Adoption Community of New England Annual Meeting.

Workshops will run through 4:30 p.m.

The bookstore will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Again, there will be a vendor area. Stop by the Bay State Parent booth.

Registration can be done online through April 2.
The cost is $150 (ACONE members pay $90).
To register, visit Adoption Community of New England's Web site, www.adoptioncommunityofne.org.
Walk-in registration will be permitted on April 5th as space permits.

May Issue, Featuring Mother's Day - Family Dining Guide - Adoption Guide, Is Off to the Printers

We shipped the May issue to the printers this afternoon.
Inside the issue is our inaugural Family Dining Guide. More than 75 restaurants are included in the kid-friendly dining guide chart. Freelance writer Leslie Castillo called local and chain restaurants and compiled 6-pages worth of information for families -- which restaurant has a kid's only menu, which offers free or discounted meal nights, which provide entertainment for children, which give free drinks or desserts, which have birthday or kids clubs?
Consider the chart a work in progress. I'm sure there is a restaurant that is a favorite of your family that may not be on it. Feel free to e-mail me at editor@baystateparent.com with additions or tell me about eating establishments that you didn't think were family-friendly.
Also inside our first Family Dining Guide, freelance writer Marguerite Paolino explores why families are trying to revive the tradition of eating dinner together and a second report on how to teach your toddler through teenager basic table manners.
Finally, our May issue would not be complete without a few Mother's Day articles.
Being a mom comes with a lot of titles. One title that always gets a reaction - be it positive or negative - is Soccer Mom. Freelance writer Michelle Xiarhos Curran, in her first article for Bay State Parent magazine, talked to moms who are proud of the title, and reported on the debate surrounding Soccer Moms and the stereotypes attached to the title.
Also inside the issue is a report on the trend of helicopter parenting and an interview with I Love You Like Crazy Cakes author Rose A Lewis. Lewis, a Needham resident, in a Q&A with me talks about adopting her daughter from China, motherhood, and her latest book Every Year on Your Birthday.
The issue should be at your favorite location in Eastern & Central Massachusetts next week.

Kids Take Webkinz Rumors to Heart

When I picked my fourth-grade son up after school last week, he had news for his little sisters. They hurried along to keep up with their long-legged brother – his words came as fast as his stride. Webkinz World was under attack, he said. A virus was spreading through the website that could kill their Webkinz. Forever. Yes, he was sure. No, they wouldn’t be able to reactivate the pets. Everyone was talking about it. Kids who really knew what they were talking about when it comes to Webkinz, he said.

Naturally, my daughters (ages 4 and 6) were visibly traumatized to think that something could happen to their special “pets.” In just a few months, they have gotten attached to their Webkinz. Having that link with the virtual pets on Webkinz World – feeding them, taking them to the vet, setting up rooms for them – has increased their attachment to the Webkinz stuffed animals they carry around with them. Taking care of the pets in the virtual world makes them seem just a little more real than the other stuffies that fill their room. (www.webkinz.com)

So hearing that something was out to destroy their pets was upsetting, to say the least.

They cornered my husband as soon as he walked in the door that night. They knew he’d get to the bottom of it quickly, and it didn’t take much digging on his part. Right there on the Webkinz World homepage, there is a corner called “Webkinz Bulletinz.” Apparently, the tall tale didn’t start in our small town’s elementary schools after all.

The website assures users that Webkinz World is “a safe, happy and fun place to play” and that the stories are just rumors.

“Many people have been writing in, asking about a rumor that is going around,” the message states. “The rumor is about something in Webkinz World hurting Webkinz pets. The most important thing to know is that this rumor is not true at all. Nothing in Webkinz World would ever hurt your Webkinz pets.”

My husband was the hero of the day when he gave them the straight story.

But it’s hard for young children to truly understand the difference between the virtual world and the real one. They know their Webkinz will get sick if they don’t feed them every few days and put them to bed before they log off the site. That’s part of the system. The kids play games to earn money to take care of their pets. If they don’t take care of them, they don’t stay healthy and happy. If they get sick, according to the logic of my daughters, then why can’t they die? The fact that it’s all make-believe doesn’t factor into their thought process. They needed it explained. A couple of times.

The part that was hard for them to understand? Why anyone would want to scare them like that.

And that’s one question I had no good answer for.