Tag: older-child adoption
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National Adoption Month
Last week, I talked to Scout and Jem’s former foster mom. Right now, they’re fostering eight kids, including a sibling group of four. (They’ve fostered over 120 kids so far!) That sibling group recently met their soon-to-be adoptive parents, so their foster mom was asking me how she could help prepare the new parents. I…
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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: Love Takes Time (and Grace)
On the shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel, just a few minutes after meeting Ashley for the first time, I had a little revelation. She was talking about her pregnancy (seriously adorable baby bump!), and I realized what I’m missing with these two new children of mine: Pregnancy. Hearts and minds need time…