Occasionally, after being served with the petition for a stepparent adoption a non-custodial parent who has been out of his or her child’s life for years, will decide to become a part of their child’s life instead of giving consent for the adoption. While the custodial parent may be disappointed that the plans for an adoption are not going to work out, unless the non-custodial parent would be a danger to the child, an effort to reestablish a relationship between the... more

While most parents are guilty of this behavior at some point or another when it comes to raising their children, buying a child’s affection is rampant in the blended family community. Stepparents, and adoptive stepparents tend to gravitate towards this behavior in an attempt to speed up the bonding process with their new child, feeling... more

I recently came across this website on the Internet called, Win Your Child Custody War. The site is full of an array of books pertaining to custody, visitation, and court. And while I thought that several of the books would be a great resource for many families going through a divorce, it was the title of the website itself that made me cringe. Win your child custody war, why does their need to be a war? The words war and child shouldn’t be in the same sentence, let alone two grown... more

Some of the worst times in life are when we feel like we are alone. When we are up against the unknown and don’t know what to do or where to turn to, finding out that there are others who have been through the same thing, and know how you feel. Just knowing that there are others out there who share similar experiences and feelings can be a huge relief for new stepparents, or for stepparents who are facing challenges that they do not know how to deal with.

TheStepfamilyLife.com has a wonderful list of blogs about stepfamilies and step... more

Hostile Aggressive Parenting (HAP) is defined as: A general pattern of behavior, manipulation, actions or decision-making of a person (usually a parent or guardian) that either directly or indirectly; 1) creates undue difficulties or interferences in the relationship of a child with another person (usually a parent or guardian) involved with the parenting and/or rearing of the child and/or, 2) promotes or maintains an unwarranted unfairness... more

A while back I wrote a blog about Parental Kidnapping, which ended up sparking quite a few comments. Some readers questioned if parental kidnapping really does happen all that often. While it is hard to believe that a parent would take off with their child, intending for the other parent to never find either of them, it does happen and it happens more than we would like to think.

Today as I was strolling around the... more

This seems to be a game that almost every divorced couple ends up playing at some point or another. Many decide very quickly that this is not a game that they would wish to be actively involved in, and soon come to their senses and knock the behavior off. Sadly others become wrapped up in this tug of war of who can hurt who the most cycle.

With the children involved in the situation being the pieces of this game, they are used as pawns, as trophies, and as dollar signs, no matter what the reason was for the start of the vicious cycle... more

If you are looking for an adoption related item, you should click on the link and go to adoptionshop.com. With twenty-one different categories to choose from along with a newly expanded inventory, chances are that you are going to find something to fall in love as you browse through all of the different items.

There are beautiful pieces of jewelry to pick from, as well as an array of new books, cards, and even computer software on planning and managing an adoption. No... more

When you come into a child’s life later on, it can be hard to just settle right in and feel like family. There is usually a honeymoon period for most families where everything seems to run smoothly, yet once everyone in the family begins to let guards down and show all of their personality traits, heads can butt, and feeling like a loving family can be a hard thing to accomplish.

We have had our own head butting battles in our family. There have been plenty of time when I felt very close to my adopted stepson, as well as many times... more

Vitalchek is an online website that allows you to order birth, death, marriage, divorce and other vital records from the comfort of your own home. The website is extremely easy to use, with drop down menus and fill in the blank personal information, even a novice computer user can navigate the site with ease. The system allows you to pay for your order by credit card, and once your order is processed you are sent a confirmation email, as... more