“My husband and I are working to adopt from foster care. How do we transition a child from calling us our first names to calling us ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’?”
Parent-to-Parent: My Best Domestic Adoption Travel Advice
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.
News Brief: China Announces Changes to Its International Adoption Requirements
In July 2017, China announced updated requirements regarding the composition of the prospective adoptive family and the timing of applications.
Parent-to-Parent: Explaining Attention and Questions from Strangers
When you and your child don’t look alike, the world wants to know why. Parents who adopted transracially share how they explain strangers’ questions and comments to their children.
Ask AF: My Husband Wants to Keep Adoption “Secret”
“My husband was advised that some adoptive parents ‘hide’ the adoption process and feign pregnancy on social media for friends and extended family. Has anyone done this?”
Russian Adoption: A Brief History & What’s Behind the Current Media Attention
What ended Russia’s intercountry adoption program with the U.S. in 2013 and why is it generating political heat again?
Letters to the Editor, RE: June 2017
Readers share feedback about articles published in the June 2017 issue of Adoptive Families magazine.
“Which Baby Gift Registry is Best?”
Readers share their registry experiences—and tell us which companies have adoption-friendly options.
Writing Your “Dear Expectant Mother” Letter
Keep in mind that your goal is to connect with the right expectant mother for you. Successful adoptions occur when prospective adoptive parents and birth parents make a strong pre-birth connection. So, resist making yourself into something you’re not.
Letters to the Editor, RE: May 2017
Readers share feedback about articles published in the May 2017 issue of Adoptive Families magazine.
Dolls and Toys for Our Families
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.
Ask AF: Our First Visit with Our Child’s Birth Parents
A mother is nervous about the upcoming first birth family visit, wondering what it will be like, how to react if she or the birth mother get upset. Parents in open adoptions offer advice.
Packing a School Lunch Your Picky Eater Will Devour
Picky eating is common in children—and as a parent, it’s probably driving you crazy. Here, simple strategies (like using a cookie cutter!) help make sure your child gets enough to eat.
Parent-to-Parent: My Best Advice to Myself
Adoptive parents share the best adoption advice they would give themselves if they could go back five years, whether that would take them back to the adoption process or the early days of parenting.
News Brief: Ethiopia Adoption Suspension Still in Effect
Learn the latest on the Ethiopia suspension of intercountry adoptions.
News Brief: Texas Likely to Pass “Religious Refusal” Bill
Texas’s Senate passed a bill that would allow publicly funded foster and adoption agencies to refuse to place children in homes that don’t align with an agency’s religious beliefs.
“Should We Tell Our Son’s Teacher That He Was Adopted?”
Families share their experiences with school and adoption issues.
Share Your Story: Adopting a Child of a Different Race
We asked AF readers to tell us about their experiences with transracial adoption.
Share Your Story: Transracial Parenting
We asked readers what tips, resources, experiences they had to say about transracial parenting. Here, we share their responses.
Three Stories: Unexpected Birth Family Reunions
Today, as more and more adoptees reach adulthood, they are finding birth relatives-or are being found by them. Whether a child is from the U.S., Guatemala, Russia, or China, she may one day be in touch with her first family. These stories, each detailing an unexpected family reunion, may well reflect the complexity of what is ahead.