Top Ten Things I Learned Adopting a Teenager

10. All teens think their parents are stupid. Eye-rolling is universal.
9. All teens think everyone else has it better. In the adoption circles, this is, "Mommy shopping."
8.  Public schools are just NOT prepared/equipped to school internationally adopted teen children
7.Teens are not grateful. Not foreign exchange-students, not foster children, not adopted children and not bio children. Get over it.
6. Block all international telephone calling. (We had a $700 phone bill from hotel in Guangzhou)
5. Internet must be 100% monitored AT ALL TIMES. Teens can bypass any and all kidsafe software.
4. All teens want to sleep all day and stay up all night. I won't get over this one.
3. Teens want you to show them affection, just not in public. A pat on the head works wonders
2. 80% of parenting a teen is just being there, 100% of the time
1. Sharing a weekly activity together goes a long way in building relationships. I run 5k races with them, take martial arts with them, and attend every game/event.
1. Don't do anything the first week that you are not prepared to do forever! See post on http://petersadoption2.blogspot.com
1. Siblings fight. I can't prevent it or stop it, and I still don't understand it.