Features
Helping Family Understand Adoption
How to explain adoption to relatives who just don’t get it.
After the Bliss
For many adoptive moms, post-baby depression is a real and painful ordeal. Shelley Page reports why it happens and how to feel better.
The Other Mother
A birth mom and an adoptive mom delve into the complex — and surprising — realities of their open adoptions.
8 Conversations to Have with Your Teen
Adoption and teens don’t always mix perfectly. Follow these strategies to make the most of these years.
Personal Essays
“Child Care, Pre-Child?“
Many prospective parents wonder: Should we start finding child care after our child comes home, or before? Readers weigh in.
“How I Was (Sort Of) Able to Breastfeed“
If breastfeeding had been easy in the past, adoptive breastfeeding couldn’t be so different, or less rewarding, could it? More or less.
“A Fairy Tale Beginning, Indeed“
Along the way, Plan B becomes the best plan because it leads to the children meant for you. So it was for us and our twiblings, conceived from donor eggs and carried by gestational surrogates.
“Look at Him Now“
One year after adopting an infant girl, we adopted a “special needs” child with a cleft lip and palate. Ever since his sister was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, he’s become her guiding light.
News
Slowdown in Ethiopia
Examining State Use of Foster Kids’ Benefits
Is Japan an Adoption Option?
“Intended Parents are Legal Parents”
Growing Up Adopted
The Early Years: Safe and Sound Asleep
Regular sleep techniques may not work for adopted children. Why? They’re often dealing with jet lag, unfamiliar new surroundings, and the total upheaval of everything they knew.
Preschool: Feeling Good About Race
Preschoolers are starting to notice racial differences. Adoptive parents have a responsibility to talk about them.
Elementary: Before I Was “Chosen”
Many adopted children will struggle with their feelings about adoption. It’s important to help your child understand and feel good about the decision.
Middle & High School: Revealing Painful Details
Children need to know their full stories before the teen years. Why, and how, to explain troubling information.
The Experts
Challenging White Privilege
If we’re white, we experience many benefits of unearned status because we’re “the norm.” But adoptive families are not considered the norm. Now what?
How to Explain Birth Siblings
It’s possible your child has birth siblings somewhere out in the world. Even if you’re nervous, it’s best to approach the situation openly and honestly.
The Ins and Outs of Readoption
An attorney explains how to ensure that your parent-child relationship is recognized under U.S. law after an international adoption.
Ensuring Updated Immunizations
Our medical expert explains how to ensure adopted children have the immunity they need when medical records are inaccurate, or incomplete.
Departments
ASK AF
- Birth Grandparent Contact?
- How to Respond to Night Terrors
- Affirming Belonging
- Handling Requests for Financial Support
AF PICKS: Gifts for Birth Parents
PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS: Hugs & Kisses
Thank You to This Issue’s Sponsors:
Adoption ARC
Adoption Services Associates
Americans for International Aid and Adoption
Bethany Christian Services
Beacon House Adoption Services
Dillon International
Parent Match
Sesame Place
Adopt From Poland
Children’s Connections, Inc.
Children’s Health
Children’s Home Society of Minnesota
Cleveland Clinic
European Adoption Consultants
Heart of the Matter Education
Spence-Chapin
Susan Parr Travel
The Russian Orphan Lighthouse Project in Eastern Europe
University of Nebraska Press
Valley Health System