Archive | Featured in Adoptive Families

Birth Parent Fantasies and Fears

Is your child entertaining a wild birth parent fantasy? Don’t worry — it’s totally normal. Around ages six to seven, children are capable of more complex thinking and begin to grasp what adoption means. This gives rise to new, sometimes alarming fantasies and fears. While many children daydream about another set of parents — who […]

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Therapeutic Writing: Putting Your Feelings on Paper

Infertility, parenting after adoption, growing up in an adoptive family, relinquishing a child—all give rise to complex emotions. Learn about the innovative Therapeutic Writing model that’s helping many lay bare and make sense of their innermost thoughts.

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Open Adoption: A Reference Guide for Families

By Joni Mantell; as seen in Adoptive Families Magazine Open adoption is a scary phrase. “When I first heard it, I wondered, would I feel like a ‘stand in’ or a ‘rent-a-mom’?” says Christine, from New Jersey. This is the most common initial reaction prospective parents have—that open adoption is “co-parenting.” Others may come to domestic […]

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A Striking Resemblance!

Sharing a family resemblance can keep away some awkward questions. It’s up to you how much to reveal, and to whom. New parents are often asked “Who does your baby look like?” or “Where was she born?” But such questions evoke complex emotions in new adoptive mothers. Some may proudly reveal that their baby was […]

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First Year Home: Now What?

Most adoptive parents come home with their new child unsure how to meet all his needs, and to form a strong attachment. Our experts answer common questions from that first year. by Editorial Team Before adopting, Adoptive Families readers uniformly report that their biggest worry is about attaching to their child. Although we may know […]

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Real Parents Discipline

Setting limits can be tough for parents–but it’s important to discipline our children anyway Watching preschoolers can be exhausting. They love to explore and play–and these little explorers have little impulse control and absolutely no sense of danger. They assert their developing independence by “escaping,” and it’s no wonder parents feel like they could use […]

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Fantasies and Fears

Is your child entertaining a wild birth parent fantasy? Don’t worry — it’s totally normal. Around ages six to seven, children are capable of more complex thinking and begin to grasp what adoption means. This gives rise to new, sometimes alarming fantasies and fears. While many children daydream about another set of parents — who […]

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Surviving Infertility: What it’s normal to feel, even after you adopt and fall in love with your child

After struggling for years to have a child, many couples may be caught up in their negative feelings about their infertility. It’s important to work through these feelings together. During a years-long struggle with infertility, couples feel intensely isolated and experience a range of emotions. Most of us expect these feelings to disappear after we […]

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The Perfect Child

Fear that they were placed for adoption because of some flaw can turn some kids into perfectionists. Here’s how you can help them relax that drive. Emily was a talented gymnast—and clearly athletic—but she would not try ice-skating. She didn’t know how to skate, and she wasn’t open to the idea of a learning curve, […]

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Fear of Losing You

Preteen adoptees may develop fears of a parent’s death or loss. Here’s what may be behind such worries, and ways to talk about them. Nine- to 12-year-old’s have seen disasters in the news and may have experienced the death of an older family member. So it’s not uncommon for kids this age to think about […]

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