Our newly adopted, 1-year-old daughter wakes often throughout the night, crying and wailing. If I rub her back or pick her up, she stops almost immediately.
Establishing a Healthy Sleep Routine
Help your child sleep through the night while promoting her attachment to you.
“What We Wish We Had Known” – Older Child Adoption
A mom and her daughter share lessons learned about older child adoption.
Winning Your Child’s Trust Around the Dinner Table
In an excerpt from her guide to enjoying family meals, our childhood feeding specialist explains how to show your foster or adopted children love through food.
Ask AF: Explaining Biological Siblings to an Adoptive Sibling
We have an eight-year-old biological child and a six-month-old we adopted as a newborn. Our younger son has several biological siblings—and I’m wondering how to explain this to my older son.
“Getting Past Working-Mom Guilt”
A new mother learns that she can go back to work and still retain the title of “Mom.”
7 Ways to Give Your Child a History
When a child is adopted from foster care at an older age, he needs to understand his story up to placement and the significance of his joining a new family forever. Here are hands-on activities you can use to start this conversation.
“I Was Afraid to Adopt. I Was Afraid Not to Adopt.”
“It’s hard to believe how reluctant I once was to adopt. In hindsight, I can see how much I needed this all along.” — Dennis Kneale
Ask AF: How Grandparents Can Support Older Child Attachment
My son and daughter-in-law recently adopted a five-year-old from Ethiopia. They told us we cannot hold, hug, or kiss our grandson.
“Two Very Different Paths to Attachment”
Our kids both came to us at 20 months old, but bonding with each child required very different tactics.
Discipline in Older-Child Adoption
Our older child adoption expert explains what works, and what is sure to fail when disciplining your child.
Surviving Infertility
What it’s normal to feel, even after you adopt and fall in love with your child.
Small Wonders: Adopting a Toddler
Straddling the line between infancy and autonomy, toddlers experience adoption in unique ways. Here’s what you need to know to face the challenge.
[BOOK EXCERPT] Attaching Through Love, Hugs, and Play
Using fun and games to connect with your child can reduce stress for both of you and lead to a secure, enjoyable relationship. A leading attachment therapist explains playful yet powerful ways to build lasting bonds.
News Brief: Bill Proposes More Leave for Adoptive Parents in the Military
Representative Tammy Duckworth introduced the Military Leave Modernization Act, which would guarantee 12 weeks of leave for all military parents.
Ask AF: When a Child Calls Every Woman “Mommy”
Our three-year-old has been through several foster placements and calls nearly every woman she comes in contact with “Mommy.”
Ask AF: Do We Need a Lawyer to Change Our Child’s Name?
Do we have to use a lawyer (and pay attorney fees) to change our child’s name?
Ask AF: Jealous of Dad
Answers to your parenting questions.
Ask AF: Kinship Questions
Answers to your parenting questions.
Ask AF: Why Won’t My Child Stop Eating?
Answers to your parenting questions.