Expectant and Birth Parent Rights

Openness in adoption should begin long before the expectant mother and adoptive family navigate ongoing contact. An agency and an attorney discuss best practices for working with prospective birth parents.

Hot dogs on a picnic table, representing the author's first summer as a mom

“My Endless Summer of Waiting”

This was to have been my first summer as a mom. Instead, we're waiting for the clearing of one final hurdle.

An adoptive mother and her son, a child with disabilities

“Great Non-Expectations”

The intense motherly love that washed over me after Jack's adoption was a shock to everyone — especially me.

Ask AF: Keeping a Child’s Immunizations on Track

Answers to your parenting questions.

Ask AF: Different Levels of Contact

Our six-year-old son has contact with his birth family. our four-year-old daughter was abandoned at the hospital at birth. After a recent meeting with our son's birth family, our daughter asked when she can meet her birth family. Should we stop taking her with us on these visits? Is it just confusing her?

An adoptive mother preparing pet for a new baby

One Big, Happy Family

Your beloved pet may be in for a shock when your baby arrives. How can you help him accept your new addition?

When Kids Face Racism at School

Racial bullying is especially harmful. Here are some strategies to help your child cope and respond to racial teasing.

“What Is Family?”

Being an adoptive parent begs the question, "what makes a family?" How I helped others to understand that my son by adoption is simply my son.

A family successfully formed after a failed match

“From Heartbreak to Hope”

When our first adoption match fell through, we were devastated.

Finding an Expectant Mother Match

How you go about searching for your child’s birth mother will depend on what you feel comfortable with.

Ask AF: Assuming Friends Were Adopted

Answers to your parenting questions.

Register now for the Adoption at School webinar on 10/6/15

View the Adoption at School Webinar Replay

View the replay of the webinar "Adoption at School," with Brooke Randolph, LMHC, to learn about how adoption may come up in your child's classroom, and how parents can talk to teachers and prepare their child to respond.

Ask AF: How Do We Tell Our Teen Tough Information?

Our daughter's birth mother committed suicide several years ago. We've never told our daughter, who's now 13 and in a rebellious phase. I just read something that said you should tell your children whatever you know about their adoptions before the teen years, but we can't go back in time to do so. Should we tell her now, or wait until she's older?