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?
The Games They Play
Along with tea parties and superheroes, our children may incorporate themes like birth and adoption into their play.
Child Care, Pre-Child?
Should you arrange for day care during the wait, or after your child is home? Readers weigh in.
Ask AF: Answering Complex Questions
Answers to your parenting questions.
“Pondering My Son Mateo’s Family Tree”
My son's story started before I met him. His pre-adoption prologue is one I may never know. But of this I am sure: Mateo was born to be my son.
“Each Stage of Adopting our Miracle ‘Rainbow Baby'”
Sometimes life doesn't live up to your hopes; at other times, it surpasses them. When my wife and I got the call, life went beyond my wildest dreams.
Connecting Through Everyday Baby Care
Dressing, feeding, burping, tickling, tucking into bed — the nuts and bolts of baby care bring the moments that can draw you together.
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.
“Great Non-Expectations”
The intense motherly love that washed over me after Jack's adoption was a shock to everyone — especially me.
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?
“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.
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: When Contact Seems Risky
Answers to your parenting questions.
Telling Your Family’s Story
Sure, celebrations and rituals are important to have in adoptive families, but so are ways to preserve and keep these memories alive.
“Waiting for a Girl Like You”
A few years after marrying the man of my dreams, I was surprised to once again feel like an insecure single woman, willing the phone to ring.
“I Needed This All Along”
Five years on: We have been “trying” for three years, and now are deep into the medical crapshoot of infertility treatment. Soon it becomes clear that we will never have our own biological children.
Ask AF: Talking About and Getting to Know Birth Siblings
My 11-year-old has two younger birth siblings who were adopted by another family. That family recently moved into our community. My son often asks if he has siblings. I have not told him yes or no yet, and now it’s so late.
“Bonding with My Daughters Over Pink Nail Polish”
My first 19 years of parenting were spent learning the scientific names of dinosaurs and organizing a bug collection. Was I ready to parent preteen girls?
Summer Reading 2015
Everyone touched by adoption should check out these powerful memoirs, by a birth mother and an adoptee.
“Many Kinds of Love”
Being adopted, I have found, means being familiar with many different kinds of love, many varieties of connection. It’s a roller-coaster of sorts. There’s an immense amount of gratitude; yet an overarching sense of loss persists, and permeates every interaction, every decision, and every relationship.