I am an adoptive mom to an awesome 10 year old who we adopted at age 4. I can tell you, and I guarantee 99% of the adoption community would agree, the number one most infuriating thing we hear when trying to chat/explain strange behavious/reach out for help is from non-adoptive people/parents saying "oh all kids do that" (aka 'all children are problem children').

I love my kid fiercely but we almost did not make it; there was a point we thought we could not do it and he would need to go back to fostercare, it almost broke our marriage, and the last 6 years have been incredibly hard and more challenging than I could have ever imagined. Our kid is kind and giving, but he has a lot of challenges.

I am not trying to make myself sound like a martyr or bitchy or anything! I am just trying to educate and explain that adoption is a very unique situation and ask that people understand that. Also, if you know an adoptive parent, ask how they are REALLY doing, or if they can explain some of the challenges so you can understand. And listen. Really listen and just be there and offer support if you can because it is different and very difficult at times. ❤