Children’s Adoption Book: Logan’s Jour...

Author of Logan’s Journey, Kathy Heath reads her endearing book on open adoption. A valuable tool for parents and educators, Logan’s Journey can help children understand that families are created in many different ways. Share Tags: adoption books, open or closed adoption, parents of adopted children Related posts Families Change: A...

Adoption Secret at Postsecret

I’ve been reading Post Secret for a long time. Every Sunday morning I have my tea while reading other people’s deep, dark (and some not so dark) secrets. Sometimes they have to do with adoption. Like this one: (posted at their facebook group which you may have to join to view) Post Secret facebook group If you’re having a hard time joining, the card says: “Thank you for giving me up for adoption. I...

Do You Know Other Adoptive Families?

We only know a few other families that have adopted. One of the family of my children’s former foster brother, who we see a couple of times a year and the other is a new family at our homeschooling group.  I asked the members of our adoption forum if they know, or hang out with  other families who have adopted?  Here’s what they said: ~~I don’t have ANY adoptive parent friends, which is why I value this...

Preparing Your Child To Answer Adoption Questions

Maybe it’s because my own children came to us at an older age…or maybe because my husband & I have different color skin than two of our children, but adoption is a topic we discuss openly and freely. It comes up in natural, conversations that we have with each other and other people. It’s something that is part of our life and “just is”, know what I mean? Whenever people ask me questions like...

Adoptee Summer Camp in Michigan

If you’re the parent of a Korean adoptee in the Michigan area, Sae Jong Camp might be of interest to you. From their website: Our mission is to provide all Korean-American children the opportunity to explore their Korean-American identities, learn about their Korean heritage, and make friendships to last a lifetime. Our camp also provides an opportunity for campers to share their experiences with other campers and...

Keeping In Touch With Former Foster Parents

I’ve blogged about the great relationship we have with our children’s former foster parents. They’re such great people and we get together with them a couple of times a year. Becoming a foster parent is usually a decision someone makes because they want to help children in need. The foster care system is not without it’s faults and problems, but they have helped a lot of children, including my own...

Children’s Adoption Books

Unlike in the past, parents have a wide variety of children’s adoption books to choose from. When my parents adopted my brother in the early ’70′s these types of resources were unfortunately not available. Our Adoption Shop carries five pages (with more being added all the time) of childrens adoption books, covering a wide variety of topics. Children love to be read to and you can use these books as a tool...

We See the Moon by Carrie Kitze

Interview with Carrie Kitze: We See the Moon by Carrie Kitze is a story written from the child’s perspective, asking the questions that may dwell in their hearts about their birthparents. What inspired you to write the adoption book “We See the Moon”? I was inspired by adult adoptees who talked about how they couldn’t talk to their parents about adoption issues because they felt it would make them...

Growing Up Adopted

Study Identifies Strengths Of Adoptive Families By: Dr. Peter L. Benson, Dr. Anu R. Sharma, L.P. and Eugene C. Roehlkepartain The mental health of adopted adolescents has received surprisingly little research attention. Yet, there are several compelling reasons to systematically explore this issue. One is the oft-cited dictum that adopted adolescents are over-represented in mental health treatment populations. Another is the...

Grandparents And Adoption

If your son or daughter adopts a child, do you relate to that child the same as you would to a biological grandchild? Yes, you would, according to new research conducted at Haifa School of Social Work. This research is unique in the field in that it evaluated adoptive relationships from the viewpoint of grandparents; previous research examined relationships from the viewpoint of parents and children. Fifteen grandparents...

Reality Of The Hurt Adoptee

A local magazine, Family Times, interviewed me in last September about older child adoption. One of the many issues I spoke about was when people tell my children that they “have a new life now”. I disagree. It’s still the same life, just a new chapter in it. What happened in their earlier years are part of who they are today, not just in some other life. We don’t try to make it pretty. We don’t...

Celebrating Your Adoption Finalization Day

Adoption is a special experience and a great reason to celebrate! Here are some adoption celebration ideas that we hope help make the day a treasured memory for you and your family.   If you’re looking for adoption finalization gifts, please scroll down or check out our favorite adoption gift ideas.   Finalizing an adoption: Have someone pass around a book, with blank pages ,where your guests can share...

Study On Young Adoptees

UNCG RESEARCHERS FIND ADOPTED CHILDREN TO BE AS WELL-ADJUSTED AS THEIR PEERS By Deborah Durkee Dr. DiAnne Borders Dr. Kay Pasley GREENSBORO — Parenting is a tough job. One with many questions and no training manual, employing instead a sink-or-swim method of learning. Add adoption to the mix, and the questions of parenting become more complicated, causing adoptive parents to seek advice from counselors more quickly and...

Real Parents

Teaching This Equation at School and at Home by Deborah McCurdy “They’re not your real parents!” The little girl’s words were not meant to hurt. At 8, she was struggling to understand her own adoption. But our adopted son was hearing these words for the first time, at the age of 5. And he was devastated. For weeks, Mark could not bring himself to share the incident, nor his pain, with us. What...

Reactive Attachment Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Parents of Reactive Attachment Disordered Children by Jody Swarbrick Many foster and adoptive families of Reactive Attachment Disordered children live in a home that has become a battleground. In the beginning, the daily struggles can be expected, after all, we knew that problems would occur. Initially, stress can be so subtle that we lose sight of a war which others do not realize is...

Families Formed Through Adoption

Nature & Nurture: A New Look at How Families Work Early results reveal that children adopted into families fare as well as those born into them. by Susan Freivalds When Matt McGue and his wife were preparing for the adoption of their daughters, Sammie and Elise, he was struck by how little solid information was available on adoption outcomes. “Most of what we heard was based on anecdote or stereotypes,” says McGue, a...

Teenage Adoptees "We’re Okay!"

A Portland based adoption agency runs a support group for teenage adoptees, and while not all the teens participating are members of transracial families, many of them are, and that topic is a big part of the discussions. That the teens would be talking about the subject doesn’t surprise adoption experts because transracial and transcultural adoptions is a topic of interest and study nationwide. In fact, the Evan B....

Adoption Quotes

Here are some more great adoption quotes. Several of them would make a nice addition to your child’s adoption lifebook. If you’re looking to purchase lifebook supplies, scroll past the quotes to check out some of our favorites! The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. -Richard Bach If a child is born and raised in a home that is loving and...

Imagine If Adoption Really Did Cost Only $10.00

Both of my daughters have been active in Girl Scouts for a few years. They have great troop leaders and their experience has been a positive one overall. Over the Christmas holiday, a situation came up with my older daughters troop. The following e-mails will explain the story. The first one is me e-mailing her troop leader. Good morning, Shawna & I went to the store over the weekend and filled those two Christmas...

Explaining Adoption To Your Child

Over the last several years I’ve met a couple of parents, both online and off, that are waiting for that “right time” to tell their children they were adopted. (Luckily this is not the norm. For most parents, adoption is a topic that is shared and spoken about throughout a childs life.) I adopted my children at an older age, so they came home knowing they were adopted. But I’ve always been intrigued by...

Adoption and Breastfeeding

Much to many people’s surprise, breastfeeding a child that was adopted is not only an option, more and more women are choosing adoptive breastfeeding as a way to promote bonding and to have the shared experience with their baby. Here, three members of our adoption forums share their experiences about breastfeeding after adopting their child. Feel free to share your experience in a comment. 1) After breastfeeding our...