It is really easy to get excited and to over plan visits for your pre adopt child. In some cases when the child has had a bad experience with adoption. The case worker will start an adoptive family off with what is called pre adopt visits.

This is just like a weekend visit where the child you want to adopt comes to visit your family at your home for the weekend.

As new parents we tend to want to impress the child.
So we go way out of our way to plan fun weekends. While this is fun and a good idea for maybe one or two visits. It is better to actually plan normal weekends at home.

The main purpose for these visits is for the child to get to know you and your family. How each weekend
usually goes is what the child really needs to see.
How things will be when they are at home and a part of your family for good.

If your family is like mine. We usually sleep in on Saturday mornings. Especially if it has been a long week.

Then we tend to be lazy and have a casual breakfast.
We all watch some TV and then we clean up a little around the house. The rest of the day is up for grabs. If the kids want to visit friends or family or hang out and do errands with mom and dad. That's what we do.

We tend to plan a movie night or bowling every other Saturday afternoon. Just any type of fun event followed by a having a pizza night or some other type of fast food. Which gives mom a night off from the kitchen.

On Sundays we try and make it to Sunday School and Church for the 11 o'clock service. Then we go home for a family dinner. Where everyone talks about their life and what the week ahead has in store for us.

Sunday afternoons are kind of lazy and if we do anything at all it is usually a walk or a drive to the near by park.

Weekends get a little hectic when the kids are playing baseball or I have the girls in dance class.
In the fall they also like to help out on the home coming floats. This weekend we are collecting bottles from all the neighbors for a cool float the senior class will be building.

Angela is working on winning her first sponge bob T Shirt also by selling magazines for her second grade class.

We just fit in whatever needs to get done. So time seems to go by quickly on our weekends at home.

We are now thinking about going back into Foster Care. So we are going to be remodeling our up stairs bedrooms soon.

So remember to just try to be who you are and let the new son or daughter get to know you for just that purpose. Find out what they love to do on long weekends. It is time to just be a family and let them know that if they come to live with you this is how life will be in your family.

Pre Adopt visits are good for both the child and the family. It helps you ease into things and make the move when everything feels right. It is a way to help secure good solid family plans.

All comments and questions are welcome. Tell us about your family pre adoption plan.