Preparing The Home For An Adoptive Child – 5 Steps

Once you have a newly adopted child, there is a transition period parents have to endure. Try these five steps as a starter to make the transition move smoothly. Anytime you bring a new child into a home, there are certain concessions one has to make.

Parents have to give up certain things while adding others. Bringing an adopted child into a new home is a particularly daunting task because the child was already used to another home. Now, you have to make the new home inviting and caring while maintaining a sense of normalcy.

These are a few things to consider when preparing the home for an adopted child.

- Change insurance and legal papers to reflect the new family member right away. This is one of the first steps that should be taken care of to ensure a healthy future for the new child. Babies need constant check ups, vaccinations and will get sick. You do not want any delay when it comes to taking care of the health of a child. Take care of all insurance related issues immediately. Try to get a hold of the child's original birth certificate. This document will come in handy in the future.

- You will need to get new documents for the child made up such as a social security number and a birth certificate. The social security number is needed because you cannot claim the child as a dependent on your taxes without one. Also, get an updated birth certificate to reflect the new family status.

- Now, it is time to prepare the physical home for an adopted child. With any child, birth or adopted, a home has to be made child-safe. This requires going over a few simple things to ensure the safety of the child. All electrical outlets should have a cover over them. The cabinets under the kitchen sink, where all the cleaning supplies are kept, should be locked or the supplies moved to a place where the child cannot reach them. Make sure children cannot pull anything down from a shelf or a table. Also, rooms that could be potential hazards, such as libraries or offices with bookshelves should be kept off limits with a child gate or a locked door. Common sense also comes into play here. If something looks dangerous, it probably is. Make the house safe for the child before brining it home.

- Depending on the age of the child, the child's past is a strong thing to consider. Babies don't have many memories, but do have habits. Try to keep the habits and the baby's routine as similar as possible. In older children, there is a lot more to consider such favorite foods, favorite games, if they had a bed time story read to them. It could be anything. Learn as much about the child's past as possible to make the transition easier for an adopted child into a new home. The adopted child is already going through a traumatic experience by changing homes and family, try to make it go as smoothly as possible.

- It is not just the adopted child that parents need to consider. If there are other children already in the home, parents have to think about their feelings as well. This is a new and exciting time for the whole family, however, other children could feel left out if they are not part of the process. Talk to the other children and get their feelings on having an adopted child in the house. Ask them what they could do to make the baby feel welcome. Give them tasks such helping change a baby's diaper, showing them a new game or picking out new clothes to make them feel involved.

As the process goes along you may find there are other things that need to be changed to prepare the home for an adopted child. These are not ground rules when it comes to bringing in an adoptive child, but it is a great place to start.