Meggin Nam Holtz, LCSW - she/her

04/02/2026

Type BRAIN if you want the link to this poster and lesson that goes with it and I’ll send it to you.

When a child yells, shuts down, runs off, or completely freezes, it is not random. It's most likely the stress response.

Fight.
Flight.
Freeze.

That reaction comes from the hardworking part of the brain that is wired to protect us. When something feels threatening, even if it is just a hard assignment or a social problem, the brain reacts fast. Thinking gets harder. Listening gets harder. Making good choices gets harder.

And Your Brave, Hardworking Brain lesson teaches kids what is actually happening. What fight can look like. What flight can look like. What freeze can look like. And why their body feels buzzy, angry, panicked, or stuck. And most importantly, what helps the brain settle so the thinking part can come back online.

When kids understand the stress response, it stops being “What is wrong with me?” and starts being “Oh. My brain is trying to protect me.”

If you want the full lesson, type BRAIN and I’ll send the link.

03/12/2026

Type "BRAIN" if you’ve ever told a child to “calm down”… and realized they had no idea how… and you’d like the link to something that helps you actually teach it.

You’ve seen it. A child reacts fast. Words come out sharp. Tears show up. Or they shut down and can’t explain why. We say, “Take a breath.”

But most kids don’t know what’s happening in their brain when that switch flips.

That’s why I wrote Your Brave, Hardworking Brain.

It teaches kids what’s going on during anger, anxiety, overwhelm, or shutdown. The lesson introduces the Protective Porcupine and the Thoughtful Turtle so kids can understand why reactions happen and what they can do next.

Instead of it being a mystery, they start to recognize it. “Oh. My porcupine brain is in charge right now.” That language gives them something to work with.

The lesson explains fight, flight, and freeze in kid-friendly language. It helps them notice stress signals in their body and gives them simple ways to slow down and get their thinking "thoughtful turtle" brain back in charge.

It comes with a short animated video, a printable or digital book, posters, sorting cards, and reflection activities so you can teach it once and refer back to it all year.

If that sounds helpful, type BRAIN and I’ll send you the link.

02/23/2026

You’re invited! 💌

Join , , , and for a community call at the end of this month.

When: Wednesday, February 25, 8pm ET
Where: Virtual, on Zoom 💻📲
Cost: ✨Free✨
Who: Adoptees, adoptive family members, and allies

We’re going to talk about:
• The Constitutional rights afforded to everyone
• How to create a safety plan and assess your risk
• Tips for staying safe
• Current events, policies, and political fights — and how these impact adoptees.

Join us for a jam-packed hour of information-sharing and being together. ‹3

Registration required. Sign up at the linkinbio.

01/02/2026

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/south-korea-vows-end-foreign-072537987.html

South Korea’s government said it plans to end its waning foreign adoptions of Korean children, while United Nations investigators voiced “serious concern” over what they described as Seoul’s failure to ensure truth-finding and reparations for widespread human rights violations tied to decade...

12/16/2025

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-inner-life-of-foster-care/202512/when-trauma-looks-like-adhd

Trauma can look like ADHD, but symptoms often derive from a child’s survival system, not a condition. Safety, regulation, and observation must come before considering medication.

10/30/2025

October 30 = Adoptee Remembrance Day
​On this day we bear witness to the unbearable losses that co-occur with adoption.
No sugar coating.
Sending love, peace, strength, hope, and light to all,

Nam 남
​
for more information on ARD please visit:

https://adopteeremembranceday.com/what-is-adoptee-remembrance-day-october-30th/

another page "to honour and memory of those intercountry adoptees who's lives end too early - from su***de or other preventable causes"

https://www.facebook.com/intercountryadopteememorials

05/25/2025

https://www.newyorker.com/news/american-chronicles/the-chinese-adoptees-who-were-stolen

(subscription required)

As thousands of Chinese families take DNA tests, the results are upending what adoptees abroad thought they knew about their origins.