Has anyone adopted a teen? Any advice?

Has anyone adopted/fostered a troubled teen? Did you have other children? How did it affect the household? Any advice?Has anyone adopted a teen? Any advice?
Oh geez.


I stayed in a foster home as a teen and the family had 2 other children, younger than me. I was very troubled....but ';troubled'; means I was screaming out for someone to care, someone to set boundaries, someone to take an interest in me, and someone to ';parent me.';





When my foster parents set appropriate boundaries, ';taught me'; appropriate behaviors, encouraged me to respect myself and them, and took an interest in me, it all worked out. It took time, but they did not give up.


(Email me if you want some details about ways they parented a troubled teen.)





When you decide to foster children, you are not deciding to have children in your home who are perfect. Most foster kids come from traumatic backgrounds and respond 100% appropriately for what they have experienced. It's not easy, but if you apply appropriate parenting tools, it can be a joy to watch the changes.Has anyone adopted a teen? Any advice?
I can speak of my own experience but a close friend fostered teens some stayed a few weeks some months all of which troubled they have a 15 year old daughter which is Very well grounded although they have had some problems which is to be expected none of which made an impact to they re daughter. before they started to foster they asked her what she thought of it she was for it! they have also had some Very troubled teens one in particular with which they had great success with and became a part of the family even years later so it has its ups and its downs there is support and advice for the fostering agency so you re not on you re own you ll have a Case worker but my advice would be to insure you re children are happy with it and are settled in they re day to day living before you make a Major change good luck I think its a wonder full thing to be able to do giving a troubled child a good Home and a chance x x
Well mine was 10 when he came to live with me, just on the cusp of being a teen. We had a hard time for a while because he was so difficult, but I wouldn't change it for the world. He grew up in time and overcame most of his issues.





In the beginning I had to deal with a lot of drinking and disrespect, and some other things. He never stole from me, but one of his friends did.





Not all teens have major problems, though. Some of them take the other route and try to become the perfect child. It just all depends on the kid himself. Take the time to get to know him/her first.
Well, it wasn't an adoption or a fostering situation, but my VERY troubled teenage stepdaughter came to live with us for a short while last year and it was a nightmare. She consistently broke every rule we set for her (and we weren't expecting much from her; it was rules like ';no smoking'; and ';no drugs';), she flunked most of her classes at school, she lied constantly about EVERYTHING, she stole money from us, she gave her boyfriend chlamydia, she tried to convince my husband that he'd be better off if he left me, she stole money and jewelry from her BF's mother, she got grounded for skipping school and promptly ran off and stayed out all night, only to be brought home by the police the following morning, etc. etc. etc. When she declared that living with us was ';too hard'; and she had decided to move back with her mom, it was the happiest day of my life. A couple of days after she left, I discovered that she had stolen my son's wallet containing $160 (he was nine at the time; do you have any idea how long it takes a kid that age to save up that kind of money?). I understand that she had a really crappy upbringing (she was raised by her crazy mother, who prevented her from having any kind of relationship with her father, my husband), but a crappy upbringing doesn't excuse screwing over the ONLY people who want to help you and give you a chance at a better life, and definitely doesn't excuse stealing from your own little brother. She's not welcome here anymore, and if she does want to come and visit her father at some point, my four kids and I will vacate the premises until she's gone again. And of course I'll take any valuables with me for safekeeping, because she'll steal anything that's not red hot or nailed down.





Sorry to be such a downer, and I'm not saying your situation would turn out ANYTHING like ours, but make sure you're very aware of what you're getting yourself and your family into before you do this. I hope it works out for you.
We foster two teens and with one of the teens we had a child a yr younger. It was not detrimental to her.





If you have younger children in your home I would NOT take in teens.
My husband's mother adopted three teenage boys. It was great. They were happy and healthy and lived a better life than they had before.
Listen to Looney Tunes.