Knowing about an adopted child's past is always filled with unanswered questions. Even when adopting older children, who are able to talk about some of their pre-adoption experiences, it can be difficult to anticipate what may be emotional triggers. For some kids it can be stress. For others, seasonal changes. For some children, the emotional stimuli can be related to trauma anniversaries. If a child was removed from their birth parents at Thanksgiving, that time of the year may be filled with anxiety. If a child experienced trauma at night, the child may be overwhelmed every night at bedtime. If a child was moved from a beloved foster family during winter, cold weather may exacerbate any emotional or behavioral issues.

Knowing what triggers a child's behavioral changes will not provide a solution. But it will provide insight to help parents communicate with their children. Hopefully, over a period of time, these anniversaries can be anticipated and the challenging behavior mitigated.