Older Child Adoption: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Another positive older child adoption story here. Our daughter was placed at age 9 going on 10. We have now been parenting her 7 years. We had some behavioral issues over the first 6 months but nothing we were not able to work through. She did not have trouble attaching to us but I would say she was *appropriately* cautious about attaching given her history. But no question she is firmly bonded to us. She's a great kid and we have a great relationship. Her biological brother is now living with us also, at 22. (talk about older child adoption!) We're only a few months in with him but so far it has been fairly smooth. The problem with the advice to go to a support group to get input is that parents like me will not be at a support group, because we aren't having any issues beyond any typical parent of teens/young adults. There are success stories, but at a support group you will hear only the negative. Don't assume that because a child is young you're "safe" from them having serious problems. And equally, don't assume because they're older that they're a lost cause. Yes, go in with your eyes open. But try to assess each child and their situation as an individual.