rocking: it heals

We recently attended a pre-adoption training given by Scott Chaussee (psychologist). I had better ideas for a night without two kids, but felt that we should go.
I was so glad we did! The training was extremely helpful in giving us revelation into some of the issues Payton and Jeremiah are having.
I tend to forget that Payton has come from so much pain because she is doing so well in many areas. But, there are many behaviors that leave us constantly pondering what’s going on. We love on our kids constantly, have a very structured home, there are consequences for misbehavior, and we try to be consistent. So we often find ourselves asking what’s missing. Something definitely was.
During this training we asked the psychologist about Payton’s sleep issues and her behavior. She hasn’t gone to sleep well since the day she came to us. She has fought it constantly. When she was a little over one year old she would cry and scream, so we would sit next to her bed. We slowly moved away from her bed, and then outside her room. She stopped crying at night, but she would constantly climb out of her crib. We eventually moved her to a toddler bed, which she also got out of… EVERY day. She knew there were consequences for getting out of bed, but she didn’t care. Nothing worked. As she got older, even losing a trip to McDonald’s didn’t keep her there. We didn’t think she was scared because she would get out of bed, stand in the hallway, and smile or smirk.
Scott Chaussee asked us if she had been taken from a Meth home. We said, “Yes.” He went on to say that the nights in a Meth home are very scary (obviously) and that strangers are in and out of the home, etc. He said that she most likely doesn’t have a conscious memory of those nights, but that subconsciously she is in fear of night time (or any time she has to go to bed). He told us to try rocking her before bed and see what happens.
Rocking has scientifically been proved to heal children. Brain scans were taken before the children were rocked and afterwards and the results are visible. Physical healing takes place when a child is rocked. 
We had heard about “rocking therapy” back in March 2010 when we watched a video series by Nancy Thomas (Therapeutic Parenting Specialist). Except at that point Payton wouldn’t have let us rock her. She would hug us, but only for a moment. She wasn’t very affectionate.
So, two weeks ago we implemented the rocking. What a miracle it has been!!! She has been staying in bed most of the time, probably 8 out of 10 times. I just can’t believe how well it’s worked. To have a solution that doesn’t stress either one of us out is a God send.
Not only has it helped her to fall asleep, but her behavior has really improved. She was having problems with her temper and was yelling at me quite often, even though there were consequences for that too. Just a couple of days after I started rocking her, she started to yell at me, caught herself, and talked to me nicely. I can’t believe it! For the most part much of her behavior has changed. We still have “moments,” but not nearly as many.
I would HIGHLY encourage anyone who has adopted (it has shown to even help infants) or fostering to rock your children. There have even been parents who have rocked 9 year olds. If the child is older, It may take a few years of rocking before you see a change. In the end, it’s worth it.

Update: After these first few weeks of rocking, we found that Payton started fighting it. She would say that she wanted to go to bed. Since we knew that rocking was beneficial for her, it was now a fight to get her to rock with us. I talked to the psychologist Scott Chaussee again, he suggested that because Payton thinks it’s fun to play “opposites,” we could do that with rocking. I call it “opposites” because I will tell her in a joking manner, “I don’t want a hug. No hugs.” She turns it into a game and thinks it’s the funnest thing to shower me with tons of hugs. So, if you struggle with getting your kids to rock, I (as well as professionals) would recommend turning it into a game. Make it fun.