Kidnappings are in the news and on the minds of parents everywhere, nowhere more so than in Holland, where a Dutch family has reportedly learned that their son, adopted from India, had been kidnapped from his birth family and sold to a children's home with false documents that released the child for adoption. ... more

Adoption reunion registries can sometimes match people quickly. However, most registries are mutual consent registries and only work when both parties sign up.

Many people are not aware of these registries which cuts down on the probability that they will result in a match. However, with the popularity of the Internet, I believe that more people find their way to registries every day. Reunite.com's registry currently has over 300,000 people registered. Below are some points to regarding the... more

The key to succeeding in adoption is to never lose sight that adoption is supposed to serve our children's interests first. For both sets of parents, to maintain a amicable relationship can be of great benefit for a child. I realize that this is not always possible.

Here are a few reminders to aid you in getting along with your child's other parents:

1. For birth parents, unless asked, keep mum on any child-raising issues. Only in rare situations will the adoptive parents seek or appreciate your opinions on child-raising. They are entitled... more

I’ve written about the seemingly interminable wait, handling setbacks, and the role of faith and hope, but I think now is a good time to talk about discouragement, the enemy of time.

We know that Satan wants us to be discouraged, but God calls us to something different:

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do... more

As a book-lover, I have thousands (literally) of children's books. In that assortment, I have a number of adoption-related and/or culturally appropriate books for my children adopted from all over the world. I promise not to bore you with reviewing ALL of our books, but I will be working on reviewing ones that relate to either adoption, Africa, or both.

"Fire on the Mountain" is a children's... more

I've talked before about how we teach Anna about being Jewish. Something that I know other observant parents grapple with is how to teach - or not to teach - their kids about different observance levels. For example, when we are walking to synagogue on Shabbat and a car passes by, Anna will sometimes ask why they are driving (we don't drive on the Sabbath). Instead of the easy answer "they are not Jewish," I try to remember to say "maybe they aren't Jewish, or maybe they just don't keep Shabbat the same way we do."

Anna has seen my father drive on Shabbat, and other relatives come and go by car on holidays. Instead of hiding these things from her in order to keep her in a bubble,... more

We have used alarms with our foster children to ensure the safety of others and to be able to sleep at night. I have been known to use a handful in one room for one child. Some can and will try to find a way around them, so if you have more than a couple one will sound. You cannot be too careful with your own children in possible harm's way. I also place two alarms on my own children’s bedroom door to ensure that at night no one could harm them.

I woke up one night (because I felt someone in our bedroom) low and behold there was our son (That we later learned was schizophrenic and homicidal) standing at the end of my side of the bed. As you can imagine, I was a little freaked out... more

What is heartbreaking is that the ages of the therapeutic foster child is getting younger. I believe that the drug problem of this country is a factor of this. When moms are so high on “meth”, their parenting and children are not a concern. All they can think about is their next fix (how they are going to get it and pay for it). So the children become part of it by living where drugs are being cooked, men having sex with the children to pay for the drugs, watching mom prostitute herself to pay for the drugs (some cases their children have been in the hotel while the act take places their age does not matter).

Most of these children do not know what a real parent is like. In some... more

This is type of foster care that I am licensed in so I do have more knowledge in this area. In this type of foster care, you will be working with medically fragile and emotionally disturbed children. These children probably are not the best fit with parents that do not have parenting experience. Most therapeutic foster care agencies wants a parent that has experience working or parenting trouble teens, emotionally disturbed children or very difficult children. Therapeutic fostering is also called treatment fostering by different people.

These are not children that have experienced some abuse. Most of these children have lived with severe abuse and some have lived this way for years.... more

Congratulations to member "colgoo" for winning our drawing for an Amazon gift certificate!

And thanks to all of you who chimed in with questions and suggestions for all your wonderful ideas! I will be tackling many of them in the month of June, and would love your input. You're always welcome to suggest topics or ask questions; I'm here to support you! :)