We may feel one way or the other, but it's our kids who must decide.
Wanting to Be Like Everyone Else
Your preteen just wants to be cool. But how can he, when he's "different"?
Star of the Week
Fielding questions about adoption at school starts early. Is your child ready?
Prenatal Drug Exposure — What Parents Need to Know
If there’s a possibility that the baby you are planning to adopt was exposed to drugs in utero, what should you be prepared for?
“How I Finally Got Into Club Mom”
The cruelest parts of infertility? Having to attend baby showers, coo over ultrasound pictures, and being told it's "God's will" that you're still childless.
The Adoption Transition Diet
Dana E. Johnson, M.D., Ph.D., on introducing new foods and addressing feeding challenges in a newly adopted child.
“Real-World Lessons”: Adopting a Teenager from Foster Care
We adopted a teenager from foster care as veteran parents and thought we were prepared for what lay ahead—but our new son still taught us a thing or two.
How Should New Parents Navigate the Hospital Experience?
Our open adoption expert explains how prospective adoptive parents can best navigate the emotional time spent at the hospital with the birth mother before bringing their new child home.
Ask AF: Inappropriate Affection
Our seven-year-old daughter was adopted about nine months ago and is adjusting well. We wonder how to respond when she shows inappropriate affection to family members or friends.
The Evolving Conversation
Should parents initiate talk about adoption or wait for their child's questions? Sometimes you lead, say the authors, and sometimes you follow.
When Children Deny Their Heritage
A strong connection to role models and to others who share their ethnic background is as important now as ever.
Special Report: Adoption & Teens — The Psychological Background
Adolescence is tough, but don't worry: our adopted kids' experiences will usually fall well within the bounds of typical teen development.
Healthy from Their Skin In
A dermatologist advises on caring for the skin and hair of a transracially adopted child.
Is Open Adoption Right for Your Family?
A legal guide to open adoptions and open-adoption agreements.
“Raising California”
Families are forming in all sorts of ways, in a rainbow of colors, and my son through adoption is growing up right in the middle of all of it.
Ask AF: Parenting a Biracial Adoptee
I am having a hard time finding resources about transracial adoption in which the child is of mixed race.
How to Explain Adoption to Family and Friends
The way you respond to questions like, "What is adoption?" can influence how a person understands adoptive families–and explains them to others. Use these ideas to correct misinformation and set a positive tone.
Why You Need Your Child’s Medical History
A little information about your child's medical history goes a long way for finding and preventing risks.
“On Becoming African American”
Raised in a white community, I've just begun to embrace my heritage.
“Intimate Strangers”
She was going to have a child but couldn’t keep it, I wanted a child desperately but couldn’t have one. She was the mother at birth; I was the mother right after. It sounds simple, but it wasn’t.