Between the ages of nine and 12, children register the meaning of adoption–and this can bring harder questions and more complex emotions. AF takes a look at what's going on in the minds of preteens, and offers advice for talking with them.
“When Will an Expectant Mother Pick Us?”
During the long wait for an adoption match, friends and family may be sympathetic, but they don’t understand the anxiety that leads you to question every aspect of your adoption profile — and yourself.
Your Child’s Medical History
The information you need to know, and how to track it down.
What Should We Include In Our Contact Agreement?
We've been selected by a birth mom who is due in two months. Our attorney advised us to draw up a contact agreement prior to the birth. What should we include?
Answering Kids’ Questions About Reproduction
Kids' questions about sex are a tad more complicated when adoption is involved. Here, our experts give you the answers you need.
“Was I Alone in the Hospital?”
Seeing where she was born—where she stayed with her birth mom and where we met her—gave my daughter greater confidence in her adoption story.
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?
Visiting with Birth Parents
When we adopted our son three years ago, our relationship with his birth mother was semi-open (letters, phone calls). Since then it has grown more open, and we're discussing a visit. Any advice?
Why Didn’t They Keep Me?
Answering kids' questions about birth parents.
“Seeing My Daughter’s ‘Happily Ever After'”
My daughter, Rubie, has the kind of life I'd dreamed of for her, and is where she belongs. I only wish I had known that sooner.
The Sibling Connection
Sure, they bicker, they fight, they tease each other mercilessly. But they’re also creating vital relationships that will last a lifetime.
Ask AF: Explaining the Birth Mother Relationship
My husband and I have a friendly relationship with the birth mother of our 3-year-old daughter. We talk on the phone, exchange letters regularly, and visit a few times a year.
What Can We Learn from Our Kids’ DNA?
As genetic testing makes its way into the adoption world, our families discover its promise — and its limitations.
Big Tummies, Big Questions
Don't let your preschooler catch you off-guard! Be prepared to talk about the birds, the bees, and adoption.
Ask AF: Sharing Details We Found Online
"After my daughter's birth family stopped corresponding, I looked them up online. Is it unethical to share this information with her, since I obtained it without their consent?"
Letters to the Editor, RE: Winter 2016
Openness Through Adoptees’ Eyes I cannot explain how much “Adoptees on Open Adoption: ‘I Have All My Pieces’” helped me. I placed my daughter for adoption a little over a month ago and a lot of things have been going through my mind. Will she want to talk to me, will she understand, is this...
A Nation’s Buried Pain
Kay Ann Johnson spent more than 20 years listening to the anguished accounts of Chinese people who relinquished, adopted, and hid out-of-plan or over quota children in the face of the country's One-Child Policy. In China's Hidden Children, she shares their stories.
Best Apps for Adoptive Parents
We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 expert- and reader-recommended apps for prospective parents and new families.
Daughters in Demand
Given a choice, many parents prefer to adopt girls. But should parents be allowed to select their childs sex? And how does the desire for daughters affect the adoption communityand the children themselves?
[Book Review] God and Jetfire
A beautiful, well-written, and heart-piercing memoir about what it means to be a birth mother.