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.

Our greyhound rescue provided us with ample information about the first few days of having the dog in our home. They strongly suggested that when the dog comes home, we walk him around... 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.

The greyhound rescue gave us lots of ideas for preparing our home for our new addition. Their number one suggestion was to purchase a crate for the dog because he had lived most of his life in a crate.... 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.

Before we adopted our greyhound, he was living in a kennel. I took my son and our beagle along to meet him. We looked at the different on-line profiles of greyhounds available for adoption, but the picture and description... 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.

When you adopt a retired racing greyhound, the rescue spends a lot of time talking about the dog's life before he enters your home. My dog spent 22+ hours a day living in a small crate next to many other... more

My family recently adopted a retired racing greyhound. As I was moving through the process of adopting this dog, I was struck by some of the similarities to adopting an older child. Of course, adopting a child is much more complicated, and there are numerous differences, but I did see a lot of wisdom in the adoption process put into place for bringing this dog into our home. So, I thought I would put together a series on this topic.

There are many retired racing greyhounds who need homes. The breeders no longer want the dogs after they lose their profitability... more

On my post, Deciding to Adopt a Child: Loving Adopted Child, a reader posted the following comment:

It seems like a lot of times folks don't have that EXPLOSIVE SUDDEN LOVE for a child they have just adopted (or given birth to) and they worry that it will never happen, but it's different with everyone. Is it easier to bond initially with a baby or with an older child? – Chromesthesia from Deciding... more

On my post Deciding to Adopt a Child: What You Have to Offer, a reader posted the following question:

Is it bad that I don't think I'm ready to parent an older child yet? I've put a lot of thought into it. I'm not ruling it out for the future when I have more maturity, strength and confidence, especially since I might be a bit too young to parent a child younger than 9 (I'm 29) But it seems as if it involves a lot more than I thought it would back when I was 20.... more

Over on the Adoptive Parenting blog, a reader posted the following question:

When it comes to adopting children that have been abused how do you separate the fact from the fiction? How does a person distinguish real risks from Lifetime movies and urban legends everyone spouts about older child adoption? How does a person prepare themselves for this step with realistic expectations without... total fear and ignorance? – Chromesthesia from Abused Adopted... more

A very important step in becoming an adoptive parent is the finalization of your adoption. Some adoptive parents skip this step, which is a very bad idea. Until your adoption finalization is completed, you are not your child’s legal parents.

In order to finalize an adoption, you need to comply with the laws in your state. Most states require you to have a specified number of post-placement visits from a social worker. These are home visits in which the social worker checks in to see how the family is adjusting to its new addition. For me, those visits were... more

During my series on Deciding to Adopt a Child, a reader left the following comment:

I also must figure out why I am not totally drawn to newborn adoptions at the moment. The stronger pull is to international and I'm not totally sure why. I'm not ruling out foster to adopt when I am more mature though. It's hard to raise children, but I think I will need an extra bit of strength and courage I don't have yet to really advocate for a child when I become a foster parent. I also feel it would be best... more