Can a Band-Aid do more than heal a physical wound? For my daughter, adopted from Ethiopia at age 9, a mother's therapeutic touch — to real and emotional boo-boos — began a deeper healing process.
Strengthening Your Family Around the Dinner Table
Want to strengthen your teen's sense of belonging? Make family meals mandatory.
When Classmates Ask
How can you help your child answer adoption questions with confidence—and handle any queries that come your way?
How NOT to Be an Overprotective Parent
Overindulging our children works to their detriment. Learn whyand howto set limits for your preteen.
Ask the Doctor: How Do I Feed My Newborn?
Everything you need to know about bonding with and nourishing your child during feeding times, from an adoption medicine expert.
Nourishing Beyond Growth Charts
How to assess a newly adopted child's nutritional status and get a malnourished child's growth on track.
Should We Be Color Blind?
Color blindness may not be the best approach for transracial families, explains a transracial parenting expert.
“I Want the Same Hubbub That Surrounds Pregnancy!”
When I announced our adoption plans, I hoped for the same kind of excitement that pregnant women get. After all, the happiness we're expecting is the same.
Ask AF: Moving and Readoption
I'm about to move. Can I readopt after I move, or do I have to readopt in the state I lived in when I brought my child home?
Ask AF: A Difficult Reality
We used to have a good relationship with our son's birth mother, but haven't heard from her since he was two. He's now nine. I recently searched for her online, and learned that she's in jail.
Ask AF: Explaining Adoption to a Special-Needs Child
Answers to your parenting questions.
Ask AF: Working with Two Agencies
Answers to your parenting questions.
Ask AF: Sharing Details We Found Online
"After my daughter's birth family stopped corresponding, I looked them up online. Is it unethical to share this information with her, since I obtained it without their consent?"
Ask AF: Comments on Beauty
An adoptive parent asks AF's expert for help with how to respond when strangers make comments about her children's appearances.
“Dear Friends and Family” — Sample Adoption Announcement Letters
You've made the decision to adopt. How do you tell friends and family? Use the following letters as guides when composing your own.
How Do I Find My Domestic Adoption Team?
Tips from an adoption lawyer on deciding between independent and agency adoption, and on hiring the right professionals.
“We’re Adopting!” How to Announce Your Decision to Friends and Family
Adoptive Families readers share the when, what, and how of announcing their decision to grow their families.
“Should I Proclaim My Family’s Multiracial Identity?”
My son's Mexican heritage is not apparent to others. Is it my responsibility to identify ourselves as a multiracial family?
“20 Years of Letters to Our Son’s Birth Mom”
Though we never heard back from our son's birth mother, I continued to write, bragging with a motherly pride I thought only she could understand.
[Book Review] Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other
Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other is a sweet collection of stories on adoption — told with Scott's trademark sense of humor, that doesn't ignoring the challenging aspects.