Our kids come from such a wide variety of backgrounds. They share abuse and neglect, but other than that, their stories are so different.



One or two parent families, the same parents, or different mother or father, baby pictures or no life history, married parents or parents who didn’t stay together. How in the world do you create a baby book to cover all these scenarios? You simply can’t.

I hate going into places that they have books for adoption. Usually it means that they have books for perfect infant adoptions. They do not allow for the troubled history our kids come from, or for older child adoption.

A child coming into foster care SHOULD have a life book if you are not their first placement. If they don’t, take the time to create one for them. Give them the chance to tell their story, and create the memories that are important to them.

I love to take pictures, so kids in my house have tons of pictures of themselves, no matter how long they are here. Sammy came with a life book, but it was only done by one family. The rest of his history is missing. Kory came with 3 photos. I created scrapbooks for both Kory and Mackenzie, and I put every photo I had of them on a CD that went with them when they moved. I also created a photo album for Kory (he was 5 when he left) that was labeled with the people who were important to him while he was here. I wanted his next family to know who he was talking about.

While Kory and Mackenzie had visits with their birth mother, she received photos of them on CD as well. Since Mackenzie came as an infant, I created a baby book for her. Actually, I created two. One went with her when she left, and one stayed here with me.

If you’re not sure how to get started, or aren’t big on scrapbooking, there are plenty of places to help get you started. Part of it depends upon the age of the child, and how much they remember.

The Adoption.com shop has life books suitable for every situation. Whether an infant adoption, international adoption, or older child adoption, you can find a book to fit the situation.

Beth O’Malley’s website contains several different life books. There is one specific to foster care. She also has a “how to” book that helps you create a life book from scratch if you want.


The foster care club has free sheets you can download and customize. The sheets are meant for the foster child to fill out, but if you have younger children, you can fill them out for them.

The AdoptShoppe website also has several different types of books for different situations. There is one that is fairly general, and certain pages can be removed if they do not fit your situation, or you do not have the information necessary.

Whichever type of book you choose, or if you create your own, just be sure to create one for your child. Imagine having no history of your life before you were 3, or 6, or 10 years old. If you do not want to part with the book, either make 2 copies, or have the original copied or scanned before the child leaves your home.