| The Adoption Parenting Library Search the Adoptive Families archives |
Over decades as a foster and adoptive parent and an adoption social worker, I have mothered and supported hundreds of children. Each one has taught me more than I passed along to them. Here is just some of that wisdom.
JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more.  |
The Safe Baby is an easy-to-follow resource that will give busy parents — adoptive or otherwise — peace of mind.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
After finally realizing my dream of becoming a mother, I found what most new parents find—along with the bliss come days filled with crying, spit-up, and leaking diapers. But when I dared to vent, I was chided: “You wanted to adopt…you asked for this!”
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Help your preschooler process the world around him by pointing out the ways you are alike.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
We asked readers, “Have you found any dolls or other toys that reflect your child’s race and/or birth culture that you would specifically recommend?” Here are the top picks.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Your preschooler may hit you with surprising questions at the most unexpected times and places!
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Parents share the questions their children have been asked by friends and classmates over the years, from being in an orphanage to whether they know their "real" parents.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Adoption kismet paired my moody, socially awkward self with an upbeat, sociable son who volunteers to wear his school mascot costume, runs for student council, and is unfazed by the thought of speaking in front of his whole school. Every day I am awed (and exhausted).
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
When my transracially adopted son was teased about adoption at school, he came home upset—and also bewildered about how his friend could have known. When I heard this (and when it came out that he wasn't wholly innocent in the exchange), was it wrong that my reaction turned from anger to laughter?
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
I adopted my son as he was entering his teen years, and now, too soon, I have seen him off to college. How will his still tenuous attachment play out when I’m no longer a constant, physical presence in his life?
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Isaac is 14 years old, but he’s six feet tall and almost two hundred pounds. He’s also black. He hasn’t been a discipline problem since the day he came home, but someone who doesn’t know him could see him as a threat. So what was I to do on a recent evening when he asked to bike home alone in the dark?
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Your child may see you as less understanding than his birth parents might be. Here's how to cope with teenage temper tantrums.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
 Subscribe for exclusive access to every digital issue. SUBSCRIBE |
 How to navigate the domestic adoption process. MORE eBOOKS |
 Annual how-to-adopt guide. VIEW DIGITAL EDITION or READ ARTICLES ONLINE |
“Our children have a younger sibling in a different foster home. Should we fight to get custody of this child, whom we’re told has a strong bond with her foster parents and foster siblings, or leave things be?”
Learn about Wyoming adoption laws and find adoption agencies and attorneys who work with families in your state.
Under the World Health Organization’s previous definition, infertility was failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Its expanded version will apply to more families.
Each year, Adoptive Families polls newly formed families across the country to get actual information on the cost and length of time it took them to complete their adoptions. See the results of the most recent 2016-2017 Adoption Cost & Timing Survey.
“Our children have a younger sibling in a different foster home. Should we fight to get custody of this child, whom we’re told has a strong bond with her foster parents and foster siblings, or leave things be?”
We polled our newsletter subscribers, "How did you tell your extended family about your decision to adopt?" Here's what some of you said.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
When the courts place children in foster care, siblings have only each other to turn to and count on.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
We left our house this morning a family of three, but the next time we walk through our front door, it will be as a family of four.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Wondering how to adopt from Ecuador? Find statistics, prospective parent requirements, personal stories, and more resources.
I adopted my son as he was entering his teen years, and now, too soon, I have seen him off to college. How will his still tenuous attachment play out when I’m no longer a constant, physical presence in his life?
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
All prospective adoptive parents wonder whether they'll be able to attach to heir newborn baby before adoption. AF readers describe their concerns—and what they did to alleviate them.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
I became a dad at age 50, and it changed my life in ways I never could have expected. It was the greatest gift.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
We asked our readers how they introduced the idea of a second child to their first. Here's what they shared for each age group.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
I adopted my son as he was entering his teen years, and now, too soon, I have seen him off to college. How will his still tenuous attachment play out when I’m no longer a constant, physical presence in his life?
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
When the courts place children in foster care, siblings have only each other to turn to and count on.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
“Looking back on this picture, I see a child who was confused, but yearning for what we all want and need: security, a family, and love. The picture is about hope.”
Have you considered growing your family through adoption from U.S. foster care, but don’t know where to begin? Contact the experts at AdoptUSKids for personalized guidance and the reassurance that “you don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent.”
We polled our newsletter subscribers, "How did you tell your extended family about your decision to adopt?" Here's what some of you said.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Our recommendations for online adoption resources — from government sites to attorney directories — selected by the editors of Adoptive Families magazine.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
If you traveled domestically to adopt, what's one piece of advice you can give others as they prepare to do the same? See parents' answers.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
We left our house this morning a family of three, but the next time we walk through our front door, it will be as a family of four.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Three years after her adoption, we returned to our daughter's Russian orphanage to visit her caregivers and friends there.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released a new schedule of non-refundable accreditation fees to be shouldered by agencies and, ultimately, prospective families.
“My nine-year-old has been asking me about her birth mother. I was able to find her on social media, but I’m worried about sharing the photos I found.”
An unexpected emergency tests the strength of a mother-daughter bond.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Four families share how they fit making scrapbooks and lifebooks into their busy lives after adopting.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
“My nine-year-old has been asking me about her birth mother. I was able to find her on social media, but I’m worried about sharing the photos I found.”
Our kids deserve to know who their people were.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
“My nine-year-old has been asking me about her birth mother. I was able to find her on social media, but I’m worried about sharing the photos I found.”
Isaac is 14 years old, but he’s six feet tall and almost two hundred pounds. He’s also black. He hasn’t been a discipline problem since the day he came home, but someone who doesn’t know him could see him as a threat. So what was I to do on a recent evening when he asked to bike home alone in the dark?
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Find ways to bond and connect with the culture of your adopted African American child.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Heritage travel can help your child understand her birth culture, and her origin story. Plan a trip that will work for your family by answering these questions.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Isaac is 14 years old, but he’s six feet tall and almost two hundred pounds. He’s also black. He hasn’t been a discipline problem since the day he came home, but someone who doesn’t know him could see him as a threat. So what was I to do on a recent evening when he asked to bike home alone in the dark?
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
“My nine-year-old has been asking me about her birth mother. I was able to find her on social media, but I’m worried about sharing the photos I found.”
Adoption kismet paired my moody, socially awkward self with an upbeat, sociable son who volunteers to wear his school mascot costume, runs for student council, and is unfazed by the thought of speaking in front of his whole school. Every day I am awed (and exhausted).
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
Parents share the questions their children have been asked by friends and classmates over the years, from being in an orphanage to whether they know their "real" parents.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
A step-by-step plan to help adoptive parents plan successful outings for children and their friends.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
I became a dad at age 50, and it changed my life in ways I never could have expected. It was the greatest gift.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
We asked our readers: If you'll be giving your child's birth parents a gift this holiday season, what is it and how will you give it to them? Read the answers from adoptive parents.
| JOIN Subscribe or renew now for exclusive access to this article, future digital issues of Adoptive Families, the full searchable Adoption Parenting Library and much more. |
