I've adopted adults, but our cases were a little different than what you're talking about. Our siblings were placed with us as fc when they were 10 and 12. Dcfs refused to tpr on their bio, so we weren't able to adopt them until after they aged out. In our son's case, he was still a senior in high school, so of course he still lived with us. My daughter graduated in June and has no intention of moving out any time soon. My son has lived independently since May '08 after he graduated.

I have another child who was 12 when placed with us. She was only with us for a year, but came back into our lives when she aged out at 18. She has been a part of our lives for the last 3 1/2 years.

We parent them as we would any of our other adult kids. We guide them. We give them advice. We are there when their kids are born (I was actually present at the birth of both of my grandd's). We help them with bank stuff for car loans. We help them file their taxes. We will help them with their college paperwork if/when they ever make the decision to go kjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjOn a day to day basis, we give boundaries to the child still home. We call and check in with the two that are on their own. We listen to their issues with relationships and tell them our opinion when asked and just listen when not asked.jkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

I have seen the difference in my kids compared to their siblings who have aged out and not had a family. My kids make mistakes, but they are much more grounded than their siblings. My daughter's two brothers were in and out of jail. One is still there and will be for a long time. The other died around Easter this year. VERY sad loss of their lives!

Kids continue to need their families even into adulthood. I think it would be hard to start a parent-child relationship with a stranger at 18, but it's not impossible. I believe that if your heart is open to it, you will find a child whose heart is also open to it. Good luck!