Children who have been sexually abused or have repeatedly witnessed excessive adult behavior (in person or through exposure to pornography), can be overly sexualized. These children often see something sexual in everyday life, or focus on adult themes. They may ask why people take their clothes off, or what people do when they take their clothes off. They may want to know why Mom and Dad sleep in the same room and if they see each other without clothes on. You get the idea.

For children such as these, here are a few tips:

Talk to children about sex in its proper context and in age-appropriate language. Some may feel uncomfortable doing this, or think that their child is too... more

One of the things parents are often curious about is the meaning of their Ethiopian children's names. Most Ethiopian names have beautiful meanings. Here are a few basic rules of Ethiopian names. There are no inherited surnames. People take their father's first name as a second name. Women keep their maiden name on marriage. Names ending in '-u' are often male as this is the masculine form of 'you'. Women's names often end with '-esh', the feminine form of 'you are'.

Children will often answer to two different names, however. One name will be given at birth and be used at home, and a totally different name will often be given to the child at an older age and be used at school.

Children... more

I’m still mulling this over, having received feedback on my blog on privacy, and read the feedback on Nancy’s blog that indicates many people believe talking about adult children and their issues violates their privacy. I’m not sure what I think.

I do believe that children have a right to privacy and that right continues to grow and expand as the child matures. But I have a hard time pinpointing where the parent’s experience and story ends and where the adult child’s story... more

At times it seems like adoption is all doom and gloom for a whole number of reasons. You will have gloom in adoption just as everything else in this life. But gloom does not fill adoption as some would like others to believe. There are plenty of adoptees that have lived a happy and fulfilled life even with being adopted.

While there are a few adoptees that are scarred, wounded through adoption, this is not the case for most adoptees. Granted it is easy to wonder what kind of impact adoption will have on an adoptee when there seems to be so much negativity concerning... more

It's nice to see some good finally coming of the mess that was Yunona USA.

If you've been in the world of adoptions from Russia for a long time, the last two words of that first sentence probably have you spitting fire by now. Of all the scammers that have decided to try their hand at adoptions, Napa, Calif,-based Yunona was undoubtedly the worst. California prosecutors last year determined that it ripped off over $1.1 million from more than 100 couples and families across the United States trying to adopt from Russia before it was shut down in 2005. The new accreditation... more

Hennepin County, in Minnesota is facing a budget crisis, a projected 1.4 million dollar deficit for the fiscal year, which ends in June. In an effort to make up for that loss, certain services will be cut, as well as a hiring freeze which starts immediately. The hiring freeze will result in staffing shortages, bringing on its own set of issues as the county desperately tries to whip its budget into shape.

The courts will be understaffed, which means that... more

The last day of the month of November always seems to be my last free breathing, no stress day before the Christmas season starts.

Believe it or not, I have 39 non-demanding children. Not a one of them stress me out at Christmas, always happy when that day arrives, so obviously my stress is self-imposed. They don’t beg me for stuff nor make outrageous wish lists.

I fear not meeting everyone’s expectations that are so inflated by commercialism, but not demonstrated here. I know that my children, all adopted from the foster care system, have... more

November was a super busy month here on the blogs as well as just in general in my life! The month flew by as they all do lately and now we are in the home stretch to my favorite holiday, Christmas!

As a part of National Blog Posting month, I attempted to post one entry a day, but a bout of pneumonia and a relapse did not allow for me to be completely successful however I did get a good many posts written on my chosen theme which was the negative and positive aspects of open adoption. It's easiest just to list those.

Negatives in my NaBloPoMom Series:... more

The next step in the Viet Nam adoption process is traveling to Viet Nam to adopt your child. Boarding the plane that will ultimately bring you to your child is an amazing experience. But once that euphoria wares off and you have over a dozen hours left in the air, the travel can be a bit grueling, but it doesn’t have to be. Your positive or negative experience will have a lot to do with your airline carrier and the amenities provided to you.

We flew on Thai Air and it was a good trip, for the most part. The one negative was that my husband and I were seated in the middle of a middle row, so to... more

'After beating my ex-wife in court in the 1980 Hague Convention procedures that helped me return the children to the Netherlands, I discovered I had won a legal battle but lost my family,'

-Yahoo News

The above quote was stated by Dutch National, Hans, in an interview promoting the use of mediation to resolve custody disputes instead of lengthy and costly... more