When you adopt, especially internationally, there is a unique set of parenting issues that can occur. Sleep problems, for example, are common, and trust takes a while to build. Usually, adoptive parents haven't had nine months to prepare -- and the child is not a newborn who can quickly bond.
Both domestically and internationally, there's a lot of "hurry up and wait" involved before your forever child comes home. In domestic private adoptions, birthparents choose the adoptive parents (typically) and have the right to change their mind up until surrenders are signed and revocation periods end.
In domestic foster adoptions, the process can take a year or more before the state terminates parental rights and frees a child for adoption. Internationally, requirements and waits vary from country to country. Whatever route is chosen, the end result in adoption is the formation of a forever family. For us, adoption has been an amazing experience -- although, truthfully, the process has been incredibly frustrating at times. But meeting our daughter and bringing her home was a joyful moment indelibly imprinted into our brains.
In the video, Parents TV talks to adoptive parent and expert Carrie Kitzie to get some specific advice geared toward adoptive parents. Watch the video, then go out and get Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections. It's a great book with lots of savvy information about parenting after adoption.
Thinking about foster parenting? Learn about foster parent requirements and PRIDE classes. If you don't have time to be a foster parent, consider becoming a CASA.
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