Adopting the Older Child

Claudia L. Jewett, 1978

If you have already adopted an older child or are considering doing so, this book is indispensable. Adopting the Older Child describes a child’s transition through the testing phase and on to the full integration into a family. It gives practical, caring advice on how to handle each situation.

A Child’s Journey through Placement

Vera Fahlberg, M.D., 1991

For some children, being in placement is only a brief stop on the way to being reunited with their parents or placed with an adoptive family. Others may wander in and out of foster care, mental health facilities, and juvenile justice programs throughout their childhood. These are the children – victims of broken attachments – who are at greatest risk for sociopathic behavior as adults. A Child’s Journey Through Placement provides the foundation, resources, and tools to help professionals and parents support these children on their way to adulthood.

Our Own: Adopting and Parenting the Older Child

Trish Maskew, 1999

Children adopted as preschoolers or older come with histories and fully formed personalities. But they also bring happiness, laughter, and great resilience. In this book, dozens of adoptive families tell about the joys and challenges of adopting an older child. Their stories are backed up by thorough research, interviews and professionals, and opinions from adult adoptees. Filled with compassion, humor, and common sense, Our Own is the essential handbook for anyone adopting an older child.

Parenting Your Adopted Older Child: How to Overcome the Unique Challenges and Raise a Happy and Healthy Child

Brenda McCreight, Ph.D., 2002

Written with understanding and care, Parenting Your Older Child is a comprehensive, practical look at overcoming the various challenges of raising a child adopted over the age of two. These range from complex issues like ADHD and fetal alcohol syndrome to simpler, but no less challenging ones such as self-identity.

Toddler Adoption: The Weaver’s Craft

Mary Hopkins-Best, 2012

When a child is adopted between the ages of 12 to 36 months, they often show signs of cognitive and emotional immaturity, which can cause behavioral and relational issues. This book offers support and practical tools to help parents prepare for and support the toddler’s transition between the familiar environment of their biological parent’s home or foster home to a new and unfamiliar one, and considers the issues that arise at different developmental stages. It highlights the challenges that parents are likely to encounter, but also gives positive guidance on how to overcome them. Written by a specialist in children’s development who is also an adoptive parent herself, this fully revised and updated edition of the go-to-source on adopting toddlers is essential reading for both parents and professionals working with adoptive families.