Raising an Adopted Child

Adopted Adults Who Search for Their Birthparents To search, in adoption terminology, means to seek out a biological relative. Most searchers try to locate their birthmothers, sometimes followed by a search for the birthfathers. Some searchers tr...

Disrupted Adoptions Some adopters decide they cannot handle severe physical, emotional, or psychiatric problems that show up in their adopted child. What happens when a child's behaviors fall too far short of the parents' expectations? Researche...

Troubled Adopted Children This section is about more serious behavioral and psychological problems that some adopted children sometimes have, problems that are difficult for them and for their parents. They may stem from earlier abuse or from a ...

Raising Your Adopted Child: Problems Adoptinfo An adoption issue is a problem that preoccupies and distresses an adopted child and is related to adoption. For example, fear that a birthparent might kidnap the child is an adoption issue. So what ...

Adoption: Dealing with Genetic Differences Some adopters have difficulty accepting a child who looks very different from what they envisioned. (However, most adopters don't have a problem with the fact that their kids probably won't look much li...

Explaining Adoption to a Child: Handling Sensitive Situations In many cases, parents can tell their children that birthparents made a positive choice to place them for adoption. But sometimes the situation was not so upbeat or easy to explain. H...

Explaining Adoption to a Teenager It's important that children know they were adopted before they reach adolescence; it's too turbulent a time to suddenly surprise them with the news. Even if your teenage child already knows, however, he may sti...

Explaining Adoption to a School-Aged Child As children grow, they start to ask even tougher questions about adoption. For example, if the birthmother was poor, why didn't someone give her money so she could be a parent? Or, if she wasn't ready t...

Explaining Adoption to a Young Child A simple story about adoption can suffice for the child who is 3 or 4. Most children like to hear their “adoption story.” When my son was little, he loved his story. He wanted to be told again and again h...

The key to changing what your adopted brother does is to change the way you respond to his behaviors. ...

At 15, you are mature enough to know the facts surrounding your birth and adoption. ...

There are many resources and organizations that advise adoptive parents on how and what to tell adopted kids at every chronological and developmental age and stage. ...