Book Review by Susan Merkel Lucky Girl: A Memoir by Mei-Ling Hopgood ISBN: 9781565126008 In the mid- 1960s renowned adoption professional David Kirk of Canada released the results of his first study on why some adoptees are happier than others, ground breaking research that became the basis for the move to open adoption. Since then, social workers, […]
Archive | Adoption
Becoming a “Public Family”
Preparing for Trans racial/Cultural Adoption Written By: Jane Cramer, MSW, IAC Center Counselor specializing in international adoption, foster to adoption, work with adopted children What is a public family? When families adopt a child from a different race or culture it is usually obvious to strangers that their child joined their family through adoption. This makes […]
White Skin on My Hands
Written By: T. Reid I’m not seeking validation or to make you feel bad I just want you to know what a tough time I had An adopted child you wanted to have But at my expense I made you glad I eased you mind, your responsibility About raising a black child in a white […]
First Mothers Day
Quotes from new adoptive moms about how it feels to celebrate their first or second Mother’s day Christine, mother of Angela born May 8th, 2008 On my first Mother’s day we were driving our daughter home from the hospital. She was 3 days old. It was May 11th, 2008, and it was the most amazing day of my life. […]
Ten Years After: Reflections on Returning to Guatemala
By Sharie Verdu Recently my husband and I took our ten year old daughter, Clairelise, back to Guatemala, the country of her birth, the country that gave her that rich, café au lait skin, eyes like pools of night and her enticing smile. We thought the time was ripe for this journey as she is still a child […]
Cultural and Culinary Delights
By Maryann Post June 2009 Our family is in process to adopt a baby girl from Korea, hopefully by the end of this year. As an adoption support group participant at the IAC Center, I was invited by Joni Mantell to attend a special luncheon for anyone interested in learning more about the history of Korea, as well […]
10 Painful Lessons I Learned Too Late As An Adoptive Father
Written By: John Brooks Lately I’ve been stumbling across various blog postings about things people have learned about [fill in the blank], things they want you to know about [fill in the blank], things you wish you could say to [fill in the blank.] They come from adoptive families, adopted people and others within and outside the adoption triad. […]
Adoptive Parents Invest More than Biological Parents in Kids
Newswise — Adoptive parents invest more time and financial resources in their children compared with biological parents, according to the results of a national study that challenges the more conventional view — emphasized in legal and scholarly debates — that children are better off with their biological parents.The study, by sociologists at Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Connecticut, […]
Parenting Challenging Teens
Written By: Norm Thibault, PhD, LMFT Executive Director of Three Points Center For those who watch for it, it seems that adoption has been presented in a less-than-positive light in the media lately. There is a dangerous trend to equate all adoptions with attachment issues, and to focus solely on the significant problems that can accompany some […]
5 Key Adoption Issues for Children – Ages 6 to 12
5 Key Issues Children really need to experience a period of adaptive grieving. Children experience intensified feelings about “having been given up for adoption” and may blame them selves or blame others Children experience feelings about being different related to adoptive status and/or physical and cultural differences. Children may feel insecure and question the permanence of adoption […]
Talking to Your Child About Adoption: Infancy to Age Six
By Joni S. Mantell, LCSW 5 Key Steps for Parents – Prepare yourself to talk with your child about adoption Claim your child and feel entitled to parent your child Emotionally accept that your child has an interest in his birth history. Learn about the ages and stages in children’s understanding of adoption Get comfortable […]
Ages and Stages in Adoption: Implications for Parenting and Family
By Joni S. Mantell, LCSW Adopted children and adoptive parents both experience intense emotions when they talk about adoption. While the focus in the adoption literature is usually on the child’s feelings and helping the child to deal with their adoption issues, the adoptive parents probably have as many issues with adoption as their children do. How the […]
Adoption: Staying Motivated and Inspired
Written By: Anna Sandbank Now that the proverbial rush of the holiday season has drawn to a close, perhaps we are focused on resolutions we have made for the coming year and how to keep them alive. More often than not, however, we fail to adhere to our own best intentions, likely due to a too ambitious or […]