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Attachment Parenting of Adopted Children.

It’s important as a parent to recognize the developmental milestones and expectations we have for our children. Most parents understand it takes awhile for a newborn baby to learn how to walk and talk so no one is worried when a newborn doesn’t get up and walk. That would be a silly expectation and most people understand that it is not a developmental milestone for a newborn to walk. Most people understand that walking on average happens around the age of one-year-old. The stages of Adoption have certain developmental milestones as well, however most people don’t understand what these milestones … Continue reading →

Raising An Adopted Child #8 Independence

As teenagers discover their own sense of unique identity and develop the strength to move away from their families a strong sense of attachment will help a teen become more independent. The strength of their attachment with their parents is the foundation of the child’s ability to move forward in their lives knowing there is a secure base to return to if there is a crisis in their future. For adopted children the transition from childhood to adulthood may bring up old adoption issues.Some adoptive parents feel helpless during this stage of their child’s life. Adopted children may wonder, “If … Continue reading →

Raising An Adopted Child #7 Adolescence Critical Thinking

The more information we give to our teenagers the better able an adopted child will be to answer the abstract questions. Some teens believe adoption is the reason for all of their problems and that everything would be perfect if something else happened. Some adopted teenagers will think reunion with their birth family would solve all their problems. Other adopted teens may not have issues about adoption compared with other teenage issues they have in their lives. It can be difficult to determine if the anger in an adolescent is due to adoption or just being a teenager. Teens work … Continue reading →

Raising an Adopted Child #6 Adolescence Abstract Thinking.

When children reach early adolescence they begin to think in abstract terms. By the age of twelve or thirteen adopted children have a better understanding of why children are placed for adoption. During this age adopted children are able to recognize their adoptive parents were the ones who were responsible for taking care of them in every way. Children are able to understand adoption as a “legal transaction” and that it was a transfer of parental rights from their birth parents to their adoptive parents. Our children face many different developmental stages and milestones along the way to adolescence. As … Continue reading →

Raising an Adopted Child: Part #1

My little boy Jeremiah. Parenting in general can be stressful. As parents we often get different advice and information from grandparents, doctors and teachers. It can be confusing enough to just be an ordinary mom and dad, but add to this the fact we are adoptive parents and our questions and concerns are compounded. This series of blog entries will be entitled: Raising an Adopted Child, and will cover some of the research and information known about children who grow up adopted. Research shows that all children have similar levels of understanding about adoption at roughly the same age whether … Continue reading →