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November/December 2004 Issue
Volume 37, Number 6

AVAILABLE SOON


FEATURE ARTICLES

PAGE

10 Great Years! Edited by Susan Freivalds

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Adoptive Families magazine, we also celebrate a dramatic, positive shift in the world of adoption. Nationally known experts weigh in on the top-10 amazing changes in adoption.

 p. 30

’Tis the Season by Rochelle Green

How do we celebrate the holidays? In all sorts of creative ways. AF presents ideas for exchanging gifts in open adoptions, along with customs, crafts, recipes, and holiday ideas just right for our multicultural families.

 p. 34

Time to Celebrate!

Happy National Adoption Month! Here, we present great ways for a month of advocacy, along with ways to carry the message throughout the holidays and the coming year. Includes a bonus pull-out poster donated by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

 p. 40

A Safe Haven by Annie Kassof

One mom opens her home—and heart—to foster children, and finds her passion. Plus, the advantages of older-child adoption and how to get started in fost/adopt.

 p. 42

A Labor to Listen by Priscilla Scherer

If the sounds of the world are too much for your child, she may have an auditory processing problem. Learn how to figure it out and find help.

 p. 46

GROWING UP ADOPTED

Age-specific parenting tips and information

Ages 0-2: "The Birth of Tradition"

Family rituals take on new meaning when you adopt a baby. Here’s how to involve your infant from day one.

 p. 49

Ages 3-5: "Routines That Last"

Preschoolers crave repetitive activities, which reinforce their feeling of fitting into a group, so give yours thoughtful holiday traditions to love again and again.

 p. 50

Ages 6-8: "A Season of Rituals"

As our children grow old enough to appreciate and actively join in holiday traditions, their sense of worth and identity is reaffirmed.

 p. 51

Ages 9+: "When it May Matter Most"

As our kids grow up, we (and they) may think they’ve outgrown holiday rituals, but nothing is further from the truth. Now is the time to maintain their place in family traditions.

 p. 52


DEPARTMENTS

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

“Thumbs Down” to Signals Catalog for their unenlightened adoption sweatshirt. “Thumbs Up” to Taber’s Medical Dictionary for speaking their mind and to AT&T for their commercial featuring an adoptive family.

 p. 9

Share Your Story

How do you integrate your child’s heritage into your family’s holiday rituals? AF readers share a year of multicultural celebrations.

 p. 8

Ask AF

Our expert panel responds to your parenting questions. In this issue: Connecting and keeping in touch with birth siblings, talking about adoption from a relative, clearing personal information from your child’s school records, and what you can do as a victim of adoption fraud.

 p. 10

Bulletin Board

A adoption clubhouse for our kids; an online training course; adoption calendars and online merchants who give back; a web portal for multicultural families; and AF picks: Chinaberry Catalogue and FlyLady.

 p. 12

Adoption News & Notes

Reports on: The possibility of U.S. orphanages; interstate adoption getting easier; a new adoption foundation; agencies see rise in domestic adoptions; updated State Department international adoption Web site; 50 years of Korean adoptions; a new open-records resource; and a legislation update.

 p. 14

Calendar of Events

A state-by-state guide to adoption events and conferences around the country.

p. 16

New Column! And So It Begins: “A Workable Bond” and “Mr. Mom, for Now”

AF is pleased to introduce a new column on the first year of parenthood with two articles: A mom returns to work, and a new dad stays home with his daughter.

 p. 18

Waiting Game: "Motherhood in the Balance"

Whether newborn or older, international or domestic, here’s how to plan a wonderful adoptions shower. With ideas for older-child registries.

 p. 20

Been There: "This Is For Real"

A family emergency tests the strength of a teen’s bond with her mother.

 p. 24

Adopted Child by Lois Melina: “The Other Side of Privilege”

What happens when our families are no longer part of the “norm”?

 p. 27

Single Parent: “Family Circles”

A single mom finds that she can’t—and shouldn’t—shield her daughter from all of life’s unhappiness.

 p. 29

Family Album

Your families, your photos.

 p. 53

Ask an Attorney: “Legal Perspective on Adoption and Divorce”

Are you contemplating a divorce while in the adoption process? Adoption attorney Peter Wiernicki discusses your options if you find yourself in this situation.

 p. 54

Ask the Doctor: “Pre-adoption Medical Review”

Adoption specialist Dr. Deborah Borchers explains the information you’ll receive with your referral and how you should assess it.

 p. 55

Parenting the Child Who Waited: "We've Always Done it That Way"

Two children, adopted from Russia, celebrate their first Christmas, and the family etches out its new traditions.

 p. 57

Reviews

Books and a CD for parents and kids: The English American, by Allison Larkin; Born in Our Hearts, edited by Filis Casey & Marisa Catalina Casey; Welcome Home! edited by Lita Linzer Schwartz & Florence W. Kaslow; Abuela’s Weave, by Omar Castañeda; The Most Beautiful Place in the World, by Ann Cameron; Tikal: The Center of the Maya World, by Elizabeth Mann; The Hummingbird King: A Guatemalan Legend, by Argentina Palacios.

 p. 59

At Home: "Becoming Mother"

A woman recognizes the mother lioness in herself.

 p. 78
Child Development, Family, Health, and Education Research

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