Actually 12 months is the worst. Taking a child who is in an excellerated period of development and then taking away their stable base is not a good thing. At 12 months they are cutting first year molars along with other teeth, learning to walk, feed themselves, use a cup, becoming less dependent on mom but with that independence comes the need to know that they are still there. One of the reasons we have so many tears.

Start a child at 4-5 months or 7-8 months and see just what a difference there is once that child reaches 12 months because now your house is normal to them too and they have the base to work from.

For any child that is coming from another care situation which is common when taking an older child or an older child that has never been in care and must go through the establishing a base/rapport again there will be problems for them adjusting.