'After beating my ex-wife in court in the 1980 Hague Convention procedures that helped me return the children to the Netherlands, I discovered I had won a legal battle but lost my family,'

-Yahoo News

The above quote was stated by Dutch National, Hans, in an interview promoting the use of mediation to resolve custody disputes instead of lengthy and costly... more

In the wee hours of the morning, while others were fast asleep in their beds, police in Tarrant County, Texas were getting ready for a hunt. They were on the prowl for the areas worst child support offenders, and while some were able to elude capture and arrest, many were not, and police were able to round up thirty six deadbeat dads and haul them off for failure to pay child support.

This particular precinct has collected roughly four million dollars during this year alone in ... more

My adopted stepson has always had a low sense of self esteem, as well as a low sense of self worth, stemming from his chaotic childhood. He was shuffled back and forth between homes and caregivers during his formative years, and then later abandoned by his birthmother, and all of it took quite a toll on his view and thoughts on himself.

He has struggled throughout his childhood to take pride both in himself, as well as in his work and accomplishments. Failure never really seemed to bother him, as he felt as though he deserved it, along with the crummy feelings that went along with it. He would revel... more

While my adopted stepson's attitude towards the end of the year holiday season has finally changed and he is now able to enjoy this time of the year, for many years we had to steer clear of many of the typical holiday activities that we had at one point enjoyed together as a family. The celebrations, the emphasis on family togetherness, they were all too much for him to handle and like many older adopted children he would act out negatively just prior to the holiday season, and it wouldn't really stop until after all of the festivities were done and over with.

There are several things that we have done in the past to help my adopted stepson with the Christmas season so that it was... more

With my own birthday over with and Thanksgiving behind us as well, it is still only the beginning of the busiest part of the year for us. We have several more birthday's crammed into the end of the year, along with the rest of the holiday celebrations. However the birthday that we have been having the most fun planning this far is that of my adopted stepsons.

This is a big year for him. Not only has it been a year of tremendous progress for him both at school as well as at home, but age... more

Child support is often something that parents deal with before pursuing a stepparent adoption. Many times families use the lack of child support on an existing order of support as proof of the non-custodial parent's abandonment of the child, while other families end up negotiating a stepparent adoption after initiating negotiations for a child support order. Some non-custodial parents would rather sign over their rights instead of paying child support for a child that they have no plan on keeping in contact with or being a parent to.

If you are in the... more

As November is wrapping up Adoption Awareness Month is coming to a close right along with it. There are still a few days left to celebrate foster children and lend out a helping hand to those in need, and those who take care of the children whom have no one else to take care of them.

There is still time for you to volunteer to work at your states next recruitment fair, or perhaps bake some cookies and take them down to your local foster care office. I mean in this day and age there are cookie dough mixes that absolutely anyone can bake, and if you truly aren't pastry inclined you... more

My birthday is right around the corner, and so is Thanksgiving. Normally by now enough things would have already conspired in my home for me to dread the upcoming holidays and the escalated behavior in my adopted stepson. All of his issues would begin to surface as the holidays approached and his feelings of anger, resentment, rejection, and being abandoned would be too much for him to bear, so he would make the holiday season as miserable as possible... more

So you want to help out children in your area that do not have a home or a family to call their own, but aren't quite able to open up your home full time to another child, well then how about becoming a mentor! Disadvantaged children of all ages are in need of someone to look up to, to hang out with, and to teach them about life in general, however children whom are close to aging out of the system could use your support, love, and guidance now more than ever. And with it being National Adoption Awareness Month, now is the best time to get involved!

Once children officially... more

Nothing gets me gushing and feeling loved like getting a hug, especially a random hug for no reason other than the fact that someone wanted to reach out and wrap their arms around you, and of course two armed hugs are the best. Sure the one arm wrap around is nice, but not nearly as nice as a full on two armed embrace.

My adopted stepson was very uncomfortable with physical contact for the longest time, and hugs were not something that he was comfortable with at all. He finally relented to leaning in with his head, while wrapping one arm around you, but... more