My experience is that families are families, period. It doesn’t matter if the people in the family share DNA. It doesn’t matter if kids have come from their mother’s bodies or not. Kids are kids, and parents are parents.
Readers Share: Funniest Comments About Adoption
Parents remember the wackiest thing their child ever said about adoption.
Who Needs to Know Your Child’s Adoption Story?
Should I tell my child’s doctor she was adopted? What about her school?
“The Power of Truth”
I know my parents were trying to protect me. But all their secrecy made me feel like something was wrong with me.
Parents Share: Creating Our Child’s Adoption Story
Parents share how they impart and strengthen their child’s adoption story.
What Do I Tell My Child?
Speaking about birth history helps all family members get used to the words and narrative, and lets your child know that he or she can always come forward with questions and emotions about birth parents.
[Book Review] Lost Daughters
Parents of young girls can read Lost Daughters to explore how their daughter might feel as she travels through life as an adoptee.
[Book Review] Prison Baby
Jiang-Stein always knew that she was adopted, but only discovered that she was born in a prison at age 12.
How and When to Share Your Adoption News
Our adoptive families recommend that you share your plans in stages. While adoptions take, on average, one year from the date your home study is accepted, you won’t be in control of the timing. And if yours drags on, the last thing you want is daily phone calls asking, “So … any news?”
“My So-Called Friends”
The other day, I mentioned to a coworker that my husband and I were looking into international adoption. You’d have thought I said we were thinking of becoming terrorists. “What do you mean, you’re going to adopt from Russia? What about all the kids in Milwaukee who need good homes?” she demanded indignantly.
Ask AF: Age-Appropriate Adoption Books
Answers to your parenting questions.
Ask AF: When Only Negative Details Are Known
Answers to your parenting questions.
Ask AF: Explaining Poverty
Answers to your parenting questions.
Our Family Adoption Story
Preschoolers love hearing about their adoption when it’s told as a narrative designed to inform and comfort.
“Should I Play the ‘Adoption Card’?”
I began to have second thoughts about sharing my story in application essays — just as it’s no one else’s business, it shouldn’t factor into a college’s decision to accept me.
Connecting with Other Adoptees
As they progress through grade school, most children want to “blend in” and be part of the crowd. But what if a child feels that the way she joined her family–through adoption–sets her apart?
Ask AF: Adoption Stigma at School
My daughter took a picture of her birth father to school. She proudly showed it and, when asked where he was, said “prison.” Since then, her best friend’s mother has forbid her daughter from playing with her.
Ask AF: When a Child Looks Like One Parent
Answers to your parenting questions.
Ask AF: Answering Complex Questions
Answers to your parenting questions.
Ask AF: Gaining Comfort with Adoption Talk
Answers to your parenting questions.