“At what age should we start letting our daughter take the lead in birth parent contact? I know that my daughter will be able to call her birth mom freely when she gets her own cellphone, so how do we step back responsibly?”
Parents Share: What My Child’s Friends Want to Know About Adoption
Parents share the questions their children have been asked by friends and classmates over the years, from being in an orphanage to whether they know their “real” parents.
What Do Preteens Think About Adoption?
Before the moody teen years, pre-adolescence can present its own challenges for parents. How should you respond to tweens’ questions about adoption or initiate conversation with a preteen who doesn’t seem eager to talk?
Helping Preteens Build a Life Story
As preteens strive to define themselves, they must work adoption into the story.
How Preteens Can Answer Prying Questions at School
How to help your middle schooler cope with curious peers.
Leaving Mom Behind
“Mom, just drop us off at the corner!”
Building Your Child’s Sense of Self-Worth
Families that expand their worlds to incorporate all kinds of cultures help their children develop strong racial identities.
When It Comes to Homework—Are You Doing Too Much?
Battles over homework can disrupt family life any evening of the school week. To lessen the trauma, parents frequently step in to help and occasionally step over the line. We asked Anita Pollic, a fourth grade teacher at Lebanon Christian School in Lebanon, Ohio, about this important topic.
“Our Daughter is Growing Up”
Our only child is away this week. It’s a first for us, 11 busy years after we triumphantly carried our daughter home from the adoption agency.
Finding Belonging in Pictures
After adopting older children, these parents found that maintaining a family photo album was a useful tool to encourage bonding.
Family Activities (That Don’t Involve Screens)
It can be a challenge to tear tweens away from their screens for some good old fashioned family bonding—until you try one of these activities!
Lending a Hand
Finding ways to “give back” as a family can be fun—and rewarding—for ‘tweens and parents alike.
How NOT to Be an Overprotective Parent
Overindulging our children works to their detriment. Learn whyand howto set limits for your preteen.
Honoring Different Talents and Skills Among Siblings
Each of your children has his own talents and abilities. How do you play fair?
Dealing with Divorce
How our children feel about a separation, and how we can help them cope.
Wanting to Be Like Everyone Else
Your preteen just wants to be cool. But how can he, when he’s “different”?
When Kids Deny Their Adoption
It’s not uncommon for preteens to pretend they weren’t adopted, in an effort to not be different.
Ask AF: Tweens and Teasing
My middle schoolers often get teased about the way they look or the fact that they were adopted. What can they say to the teasers?
What If? Imagining Life in a Different Family
Sleepovers and play dates give our kids an intimate glimpse of life in a different family — and may prompt reflections and questions.
Mortifying Moms
You used to be the coolest mom on the block–at least in the mind of your kid. Now she rolls her eyes at everything you do. What’s up?
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