Adopting Older Children

Are you considering adopting a child over the age of 5? Join our discussion with Dr. Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero. She has a PhD in Social Work from Fordham University and is co-author of the book Adopting Older Children: A Practical Guide to Adopting and Parenting Children Over Age Four.

In this episode, we talk about:

The greatest need in both foster care adoption and international adoption is to adopt kids 5 and older.
Adolescents have a bad reputation in general in our society and those in foster care or international child welfare institutions have an even worse reputation.
These kids and youth may have challenging behaviors that will be hard to parent. (They also may not have challenging behaviors.)
- Why have they developed these behaviors? (grief and loss, trauma, mental health)
- What are some typical behaviors that are more difficult for parents?
Tips for creating trust and attachment with older children.
How to prevent these behaviors from influencing other kids in the family?
Special issues specific to older kids adopted internationally.
- Lack of ability to communicate.
- Cultural differences.
Safety concerns, especially if there are younger children in the family.
- Sexually acting out.
- Physical abuse.
Sibling relationships when adopting an older child.
Contact with bio family members and former foster parents
Trying to establish rules with teens/tweens who have had too much freedom.
Helping kids academically.
- Neuropsychological evaluations, IEPs,
Support for adoptive families

Music Credit: Michael Ashworth

Podcast Producer: Megown SoundWorks

Image Credit: Pavel Danilyuk