Perhaps more A-parents (which is a trendy abbreviation for "adoptive parents" I can only promise I'll try never to use again) should read more stories like this one, in which England's foreign secretary, David Miliband, is praised by a mother who adopted from Shenzhen eight years ago. He's just adopted internationally, too.

From the United States.

There's more detail about his adoption in ... more

Many adopted children have some form of special need. Whether that special need arose from life before entering an adoptive home, from prenatal care, or just the way that life turned out, some adopted children are resistant to the forms of discipline that work well for other children. For those children, we adoptive parents need to get creative!

I have tried just about every type of discipline, both positive and negative, with my son that was not abusive. Because of his Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity... more

This post is part of a series on older child adoption in which I am applying things I learned from adopting a retired racing greyhound to hoping to adopt an older child. While there are obviously many differences, I learned a lot that can be useful in adopting an older child.

I have owned one or more dogs at a time for most of my life, and I have taken all of them out for walks on a leash at one time or another. While I might get the occasional "He's cute" comment, none of those... more

It finally feels like fall here at last in my neck of the woods! I can break out my boots finally! I took a break this month and headed out of town where I re-charged my batteries in the Great Smokey Mountains. It was a nice break, but unfortunately I caught walking pneumonia and brought it home with me.

Although I took a little break, it was still a busy month here in the blogs. I started the month of October out with a post about a lesson I have learned from my son! Charlie has taught... more

After reading this article in the Times Online from the UK,"A system guaranteed to damage babies; If you want to adopt, you're better off in America", I'm trying to figure if the author indicates a good example of the grass always being greener, is comparing apples to oranges, or makes valid points about the American system of infant adoption that puts it far and away above that in Britain.

With the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, missing out on all the hoopla during the State visit of the Saudi King and that country's version of Foreign Secretary ... much of it very important hoopla... more

Lately I’ve written quite a bit about the role of traditions and rituals in the lives of adoptive families. One that I’ve not discussed yet in any depth is the family dinner table.

Though my husband has a flexible schedule, and the kids probably see him more than most children are able to see their fathers during the day, we still look forward to the dinner table as the time when we can all be together to discuss our day.

Manners Training: The family table is a great place to practice and model manners.

Teamwork: Setting and clearing... more

My daughter has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In her weekly therapy sessions, she does a fair amount of play therapy. But lately, the California redwoods have been endangered by the copious amounts of paper she’s using to flood us with drawings! She is quite the little artiste.

Because my background is in Early Childhood Education, I’ve viewed her artwork with a deeper eye toward seeing anything that might be in them that is relevant. I also mentioned this recent proliferation of artwork to her therapist. I suppose the conversation took root, because after his latest session... more

African hair in general is delicate. Adopted children who have periods of poor nutrition and less than optimal hair care will often come home with damaged hair. But whether a child comes home with a little hair or a lot of hair, it can sometimes be hard for parents to decide to cut their child's hair.

Little girls My daughter who came home at the age of 20 months has extremely delicate, very damaged hair. The damage was the worst in the middle of the back of her head-- you know, the typical place where baby hair gets broken off, leaving a bald spot.

At first when she came... more

Understanding why things happen in this life is not always easy. I shared my experience of visiting my brother’s grave but was unable to go into great detail because it was so emotional at that point. My oldest daughter went with me but sat in the car while I took this part of my adoption journey alone. It is something that I had to face alone not knowing how I would feel or react facing the reality of life or the end of it.

After some personal time I did ask my daughter if she would like to see my brother’s grave. She asked if he would have been her uncle. And I said yes but somewhat different since we... more

The journey and experiences we go through in life all have meaning. All of things have an impact on the person we become. Even the challenges, losses, and heartbreaks of life teach us lessons.

While I do understand and agree that adoption does have an impact on our life experiences and the person we become, but it should not be only about that. While some adoptees talk about searching for who they are, the truth is this person already exists. Yes, there are pieces of our lives that are missing but does that change your existence?

We all, including people not adopted, go through different points in life searching for who we are or at some point in life we lose sight of... more