Category: adoption
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Invisible special needs in adoption
If you see my two youngest children at church, at the grocery store, or wherever else we may be, you’ll see cute kids who almost always remember to use good manners and are delighted to give you a hug, even if they just met you. Though they might interrupt our conversation 743 times, they will…
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The challenge of parental authority in adoption
Few people would be surprised to hear that a teenager adopted at nearly 15 years of age, after spending most of her childhood in foster care, might rebel against parental authority. After all, rebellion tends to be viewed as a normal teenage thing even for kids with healthy childhoods. {But not all teens rebel.} Parental…
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Foster Adoption: one year later
We spent Scout and Jem’s adoption anniversary at the beach. We didn’t plan it that way; it just happened to work out as the best timing for our family vacation. A year ago, at adoption finalization, I couldn’t begin to imagine going on vacation with these two. By that time, they’d been with us six…
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When Mom Struggles with Bonding in Adoption
In adoption circles, “attachment” is a big buzz-word. A diagnosis of RAD (reactive attachment disorder) tends to be the exception rather than the rule, but many adopted children have some difficulty bonding with their new parents. This is easy to understand if you think about it: children growing up in foster homes or orphanages, or…
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Adoption finalization is just the beginning
For the past six months, these children have lived in my home, and for nearly that long they have called me Mama. Today we finalized their adoption. That’s the end of our foster-adoption process, but this is only the beginning of more than a dozen more years of parenting. {at the courthouse today} Adoption Day…