Adopt an older Child

Persons thinking about adopting an older child should hear the opinions of an old Texas adoption judge, Harold B. Clapp, who said, "Being a parent is not about blood relations. It is a contact sport. It is about who you bump into and who you touch every day." He said, "Being a parent is not hard, it just takes a long time."

Challenges: Adopting an older child is like an arranged marriage. There are two personalities and two views of the world which come together. Because of the events leading to an adoption, the child suffered traumatically sad experiences. His or her personality has been set in ill-fated circumstances. Bad things happened.

Issues: "Adoption was a bumpy ride - God, was it worth the fight." Mariska Hargity. It is no secret that rearing a preteen and teen girl or boy is a challenge, whether yours by birth or adoption. The mother's love will be there immediately, but it will take more than a mother's love to face the bumpy ride. It will take all the parenting skills to guide and prepare a girl to live a good life.

Parenting skills: To meet every day and every night challenges, your skills will include re-educating the misinformed, consoling the sad, and guiding the undisciplined. Your little girl may never appear to listen to you, but she will always be watching you. As your little girl grows, so shall your skills grow to meet her needs.

Conclusion: So, a family is assembled by a mother's bumping into, colliding with, and touching her child's body and soul every day and every night. The rewards are enormous. It is the adopted child who will remember her mother's birthday. It is the adopted child who will look most like her mother in the Christmas card photographs. An adopted girl will remember and appreciate, once she is past her teen insolent years, what her mother did for her.

Final Result: The final result was best said by an anonymous soul, "A family is like fudge - mostly sweet, with a few nuts."