Case Study: Practice Parenting With Adoptive Kids

Photo: ©Kaspars Grinvalds via Canva.com

Mable was lamenting the fact her oldest daughter had gone astray. Janice seemed to have little interest in spiritual things. Mable was not sure what went wrong. She and Biff adopted Janice when she was 2-years old. They were married for five years and could not have children.

Adoption seemed like a great option. After much prayer and counsel, they adopted Janice and were excited about their newly formed family. After a while, it became evident that Biff was a weak spiritual leader and Mable had little understanding of what it meant to be a mom. In addition to these deficiencies, God opened her womb, and she had “her child.” Sarah was five years younger than her sister and proved to be a “better” child than Janice.

Janice and Sarah are 27 and 22 years old, respectively. Janice is in rebellion, while Sarah is a “model” child. During counseling, Mable said,

Janice has been a challenging child to parent. We tried everything. Some things worked, and others were not good ideas. Fortunately, God gave me Janice to practice on before He gave me my real child. What I learned through trial and error, I changed and did a better job with Sarah. Can you help me understand what went wrong with Janice?

Case Study Questions

1. Where would you want to start with Biff and Mable?
2. What would you say to Mable’s question?
3. What other information would you like to know from Biff and Mable?
4. What are your speculations about this counseling case?

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Rick Thomas

Rick launched the Life Over Coffee global training network in 2008 to bring hope and help for you and others by creating resources that spark conversations for transformation. His primary responsibilities are resource creation and leadership development, which he does through speaking, writing, podcasting, and educating.

In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology and, in 1991, a BS in Education. In 1993, he received his ordination into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master’s University. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).