Search Results for: blog sibling safety

Sibling Safety

Your older child can cause unseen danger to your baby in ways other than you might think. Here is what you need to know in order to protect your children. When you bring a new baby home, you might worry about how your older child will receive the new baby. Most of the time, older siblings make the transition pretty easily, especially with the support of loving parents. The safety concern that I want to discuss today has nothing to do with harm coming to a younger child as a result of jealousy, but rather from decisions that the parents … Continue reading →

Adoption Considerations when you Already Have Children: Safety

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When you already have children, your adoption decisions will have to take them into account as well. In my last blog I mentioned the effect that spacing of children and adopting out of birth order can have on your family. This blog continues the discussion of things to think about when planning for second or subsequent children. When you consider age and special needs of the child you can adopt, and when you consider the referral of a specific child, you must consider your responsibility to the children you already have. First, you must consider safety. A child who has … Continue reading →

The Best of the 2007 Baby Blog

It has been an exciting year in the baby blog with a few changes in bloggers, several news stories, a few series started, and of course lots of information and reflection. This is a list of the best of the best. . .the best news, the best advice and the best of my personal favorites. With that I wish you all a Happy New Year, and look forward to an exciting year in 2008! Ask a Baby Blogger Series–This, in my opinion is one of the best things the baby blog has to offer. Granted, it’s my advice which I … Continue reading →

Bed-Hopping Siblings

Some parents get very upset and worried when they discover that siblings who go to sleep (or at least go to bed) in their own separate beds, end up co-sleeping with one (or more) of their siblings during the night. Depending on the ages, temperaments, and sibling bonds of the children–this might be normal or troublesome. I think a parent’s attitudes and the family culture have something to do with it as well. Recently, someone was telling me that she is really concerned because now that both of her children are out of cribs, they can often be found snuggled … Continue reading →

Making Contact: Finding My Child’s Adopted Siblings

After three years of playing amateur private investigator, I finally found the rest of my son’s birth siblings’ adoptive families. I desperately wanted more information on my son’s family medical background than I was given by our state. I wanted to know if the other families got more information on my son’s birth parents character as well. Here is the story on how we made contact. For easier reference and safety purposes, I will refer to my son’s birth siblings by their maternal birth order rather than their names. My son is the 6th child of 8 by his birthmother. … Continue reading →

Teen Dating Safety

Violence among dating relationships has increased greatly in recent years with one in three teenagers experiencing some form of dating violence. (See my blog Teen Dating Violence: A Serious Problem.) So as a parent how you help protect your teenager from dating violence and teach them that violence is not appropriate in relationships? First decide at what age you will allow your child to date. Then when your child does begin dating set up some dating guidelines and encourage your child to use these guidelines. Possible dating guidelines could be: Double-date the first few dates Let your parents know your … Continue reading →

Our Sibling Adoption Experience with The State of Oregon.

I am often asked how long our adoption process with the State of Oregon took from start to finish. The questions of how long it takes to adopt from the state can be difficult to answer, because every state handles their system differently and every family and child is unique. We started investigating adoption during 2001 by looking at all of our options. We briefly considered domestic infant adoption but decided, given our ages and the fact that I had biological children, we might have to wait a long time before a pregnant woman might consider our family for the … Continue reading →

How Old is Too Old for Trick-or-Treating?

Trick-or-treating is a big part of Halloween. It is pretty obvious that this tradition was designed for children to participate in (often accompanied by their parents). Is there an “age limit” for trick-or-treating? At what age does a child become too old to go trick-or-treating? Ultimately, a parent needs to make that decision for themselves. Here are some things to consider when wondering if your child is too old to trick-or-treat this year. Check the local rules. Many cities or towns will issue specific rules regarding trick-or-treating. These rules usually consist of things like the hour that trick-or-treating can begin … Continue reading →

Riding the Bus

They’ve spent years singing about its wheels going round and round, but now the day has come for your little one to take his first ride on a big yellow school bus. More and more parents of preschoolers are opting to have their kids use a bus as the primary vehicle to get to class.  Depending on the location of your child’s preschool, older siblings might be able to ride alongside their younger sister or brother. Regardless of whether or not all of your children ride the same bus, now is the time to prep your preschooler on the rules associated with … Continue reading →

What To Do If Your Toddler Acts Like A Baby

Did you know that toddlers sometimes regress and act like babies even if there is not an actual baby around the house? Whether the regression in your toddler’s behavior is due to the arrival of a sibling, a major change like a move, starting preschool or day care, a divorce, or even just simply feeling overwhelmed by being a big boy or a big girl it is perfectly normal. It is also okay for you to play along and baby your toddler by letting him or her drink water from a bottle, snuggle on your lap, have extra hugs and … Continue reading →